Ardonne has Megan Scran dreaming of Hambletonian 2026

by Murray Brown

Women have long been a major force among trainers with our standardbred folk. In recent years, we have had Linda Toscano, Nancy Takter, and Julie Miller playing at the top. This year brings a couple of new entrants. Complementing the success of Annie Stoebe with her red headed monster Elista Hanover — a monster only in the way she performs on the racetrack, but in the words of Annie, “the sweetest, kindest filly you are likely to find anywhere” — is Megan Scran and her recent win in the Grade 1 William Wellwood Memorial with Phil Steinberg’s Ardonne. But Scran is no recent one hit wonder. She has been training her own small stable since 2017 and has been successful almost from the beginning. We recently spoke with Scran about several things, all dealing directly or indirectly with harness racing, its horses and its people.

After a 12-year involvement in harness racing, you now find yourself as the trainer of a terrific, maybe even a great 2-year-old trotter, one that anybody who trains horses dreams of having. How did it start?

“I rode and showed horses. I had friends who were involved in harness racing. They said it was fun. I got a job as a groom working for Trond Smedshammer. At first, it was culture shock. I had no idea that it was a seven day a week job. Of course, if I had thought further, I should have known that horses didn’t know what day of the week Saturday or Sunday was. They had to be fed and taken care of. At first, I feared sitting behind a horse. I thought, they could kick me. I was used to sitting on their backs where that wasn’t possible. Thanks to the urging of Trond, I not only jogged my horses, but I also started training. One of the first horses I had in my charge was a very nice colt named Royal Ice who actually was a starter in the 2014 Hambletonian. He was just a nice colt, nowhere near as fast as Trixton who won the race. I was with Trond for two years. Then I met Scott [Zeron] and we became an item. We’ve been together since.”

What happened then?

“I had been living in Central New Jersey and working at what was then White Birch Farms for Trond. Scott and I moved up to North Jersey. I became Scott’s chauffeur driving him to wherever he was racing. We were both chauffeurs of a sort — I to Scott and Scott behind all the horses he was engaged to drive. I became bored and decided that I really missed working with the horses. Maybe to stop my complaining, or to ease my boredom, or perhaps both, Scott bought me a mare to help me occupy my time. I had fun and enjoyed racing her. In 2020, we owned small pieces of three yearlings that Scott’s dad Rick was training in Florida. I took care of them and helped with the training in the stable. We both loved it. I was with my horses, training and jogging every day. Scott would sometimes join us but he enjoyed the warm Florida sunshine and the many golf courses even more.”

Your first “Big Horse” was the Tactical Landing filly Tactical Mounds. How did that come about?

“Anthony MacDonald had bought her as a yearling for $27,000 for The Stable at the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale. Anthony now, and back then, races mostly in Canada, Ohio and Western Pennsylvania. He didn’t have a stable division in New Jersey, nor does he race here much. So, he sent her to me. I suppose that he also figured that he’d have first dibs on getting Scott, with who he has been close friends for many years, to drive her. It’s been a great association which we have maintained ever since.

“Tactical Mounds ended up being a terrific filly for all of the three years that she raced for us. She earned $531,710. I suppose she, together with Tactical Approach, who Scott won the Hambletonian with, were responsible for our love affair with Tactical Landing. Those two coming in the same year at least indirectly led to us getting Ardonne.

“This year, Anthony sent us Perfect Thought, a Perfect Sting filly that we’ve had some success with. She has already won $75,000…”

Note: Perfect Thought won the $150,000 New Jersey Classic final for female rookie pacers at The Meadowlands on Friday (Sept. 5) in 1:51.1 to double her earnings.

Would you talk about how you got Ardonne?

“At last year’s Little Brown Jug, I met Phil Steinberg. Scott has previously known him. We got to talking and he asked if we were going to Lexington for the races and the sale. He mentioned that he was looking to buy a yearling or two and asked if I would be interested in training one for him. We stayed in touch and we each had a list of the yearlings that interested us most. Phil’s list mostly included pacers. Mine was mostly trotters with all the Tactical Landing colts on it at least there to be evaluated. There were some selling on Day 1 or even Day 2 that we knew were going to be too expensive. But it certainly would not hurt to look. We had Phil convinced to go after a trotter. We settled on Hip #496, a Tactical Landing colt selling on Day 3. He is the second foal out of a Father Patrick mare named Burberry. Her first foal, Mr Mouton, was a 2-year-old with only one start, which was in winning a New York Sires Stakes at Saratoga in 1:57.3. He has since lowed his record to 1:50.1 at 3 this year.

“Ardonne checked all the boxes. He was a good sized, strong colt. His video was excellent. He seemed to have a very pleasant disposition. His only fault, if you would call it a fault was that he toed out slightly on his front right. There are some astute trotting horsemen who look for a horse to toe out a little. We were settled. Ardonne was our pick. Now all Phil had to do was buy him. We were both at the sale but we weren’t with Phil when Hip #496, Ardonne, sold. He brought $37,000. My cell phone buzzed. It was Phil. ‘We got him.’ he exclaimed.”

You then shipped him to Mark Ford’s Training Center where he received his early lessons.

“I don’t like to say perfect when speaking about a horse, but I’ll say it anyway. This boy has been exceptional in every way, for every day that I’ve had him in my care. He is a perfect gentleman both on and off the track. When training him down, I feared as so often happens with young horses, that my dream could be shattered. You worry that when they reach a certain speed, that might be where their limit is. When he first went in 2:00, I wondered how much faster can he go. But he did it so easily. I was sure he could do better, perhaps a lot better.

“Scott raced him conservatively in his first few starts, as he does with most young horses, especially those that have a whole of talent and potential. He won the Grade 1 Wellwood Memorial in 1.52.4 with what we hope was something left in the tank.”

What’s next?

“The Grade 1 Mohawk Million comes up on Sept. 30. Phil Steinberg has already bought Brad Grant’s slot in the race, so we are definitely going. From then on, we will let Ardonne tell us where we should go. There’s Lexington of course and after Lexington, if we go, there are the Breeders Crowns at Mohawk. But it is up to Ardonne to stay happy, healthy, and sound. Of course, we have to do our part in keeping him that way.”

What are your plans for next year? Will you be shopping for yearlings? I’ve heard talk that you are considering going to Florida.

“I hope to be in the market for a few yearlings. The catalogs are now online. Hard copies should be in the pipeline. I’m beginning to get the fever. I don’t want to have too many in my stable. I look upon the ideal size for me to be in the area of 10, give or take one or two. Yes, we’ve talked about Florida. We both love it for the climate. I think it’s good for both the horses and those that train them. If I can get another owner or two interested, perhaps we will have enough babies to make wintering in Florida worthwhile.”

One supposes that with this year not near over, it’s too early to begin speaking of next year and the Classic races coming up.

“Yes, it probably is. But this is a business built on and dependent on dreams. I dream of having my all-time best horse with me at The Meadowlands on Aug. 1, 2026. Of course, there will likely be some challenges to face before then, but if things go according to plan, we hope to be there.”