Caesars Trot Night, Marcus Melander, and some September numbers

by Bob Heyden

Tonight (Sept. 25) is Caesars Trot Night at Hoosier Park with a boatload of stakes with some Breeders Crown previews. Let’s take a look at this special night, past and present.

The ninth edition of the Caesars Trot welcomes back Lexus Kody, the richest trotter of 2025 and the dead-heat winner from last year. Periculum, who dead heated with Lexus Kody, is not here this year.

Ponda Jet is the only 2024 and 2025 participant returning. His 1:50 flat track record is the Indiana/Hoosier current all-time mark.

French Wine took down the Breeders Crown last year and only some bad luck, and the second tier, cost him the victory in the 2025 Caesars Trot, where he finished third.

Yannick Gingras and his talented Antognoni S is also going to give it a go, as one of 22 on the card for Team Burke.

Marcus Melander won this six years ago with Gimpanzee and Nancy Takter just two years back with that year’s division titleholder Winners Bet.

John Butenschoen is going to try and beat the boys with three-quarters-of-a-million earning mare R Dutchess. Remember, Bella Bellini turned the tables on the guys in 2022.

Also featured on the Caesars Trot card is the Hoosier Park Pacing Derby which has seen a parade of close contested finishes recently.

Maximus Miki uncorked a long three-deep move to the :54 half last year and somehow hung on in 1:47.4 for Scott Zeron.

The 2024 edition featured a gamer than game Little Rocket Man in 1:48.1, while Allywag Hanover was a winner at 4-1 in 2023 in a fantastic finish holding off Lou’s Pearlman and Ponda Warrior, the year after Bulldog Hanover set the current track record of 1:46.3.

In 2021 Ocean Rock was helped by the five-eighths wipeout of This Is The Plan who was aiming for a three-peat.

Lazarus N started to make a name for himself on these shores in 2018 with a :25.4 finale to secure a 1:48.4 victory with HOY McWicked coming fast.

Back in 2015, 11-year-old Foiled Again was dead game in 1:50.3 on the off going.

But most will focus in the direction of On To Norway as he puts his mind-numbing 28 straight victories at Hoosier Park on the line. His 1:48.3 makes him North America’s fastest trotter. John De Long has never lost with “Norway;” 27 straight at Hoosier and one at Indy.

NOTE: Mike Peterson started the Hoosier Park streak with Norway on April 10, 2025, then De Long took it the rest of the way.

WHAT A YEAR SO FAR FOR MARCUS MELANDER

Trainer Marcus Melander, 34, is having a season for the ages, finishing 1-2-3 in the Jim Doherty, winning the Hambletonian in a 1:49.2 record, and scoring his second Yonkers International Trot with Super Chapter just the third 4YO since 1990 to win it. He also won the International with Cruzado Dela Noche in 2018.

He won the 2026 Cashman and Maple Leaf Trot with Super Chapter and the Hambletonian Oaks with Nezuko Kamado S.

He also trains the quickest female ever, standout Bourbonista S (1:48.4).

His career six million-dollar wins on the trot is the most for any trainer ever not yet 35. Fellow Sweden Per Eriksson had three by the time he was 31.

If things continue on this path for him, he’s got a shot, with the rich Breeders Crown coming up, to better Ake Svanstedt’s record of earnings per start mark that was set in 2023 of $16,404. Melander almost did it last year with $16,104.

SEPTEMBER BY THE NUMBERS

• It’s the 20th anniversary of Jimmy Takter debuting and winning the Jug with Mr Feelgood driven by Mark MacDonald. MacDonald was licensed in Ohio just hours before the race.

• We are only eight days out from wrapping up the Trotting Triple Crown with the moved-back-one-week Kentucky Futurity on Oct. 3. The first two legs have gone to brothers-in-law Lucas Wallin and Marcus Melander with Inexpressable (Yonkers Trot) and Apex (Hambletonian), respectively.