RACING ROUNDUP : American Winner Sets Hambletonian Marks

American Winner moved within a victory of harness racing’s triple crown with the fastest heat and two-heat total in Hambletonian history at the Meadowlands.

“I never thought I’d ever be here,” said Milton Smith, a 21-year Navy veteran who had been driving horse vans until he took over training American Winner on June 1. “I can’t even talk right now.”

Before the race, he said winning the Hambletonian would be especially exciting “because I’m black. It’s a rags-to-riches story and everybody was surprised Mr. (co-owner Bob) Key put trust in me.”

American Winner, driven by Ron Pierce, won the final in 1:53 2/5. He won his elimination in 1:53 1/5, breaking Mack Lobell’s 1987 stakes record by two-fifths of a second. His two-heat time of 3:46 3/5 broke Mack Lobell’s record by a full second.

American Winner won the first race of the series, the Yonkers Trot, on July 10. The finale will be the Kentucky Futurity, Oct. 8 at the Red Mile in Lexington, Ky.

The last Triple Crown winner was Super Bowl, American Winner’s sire, in 1972.

American Winner paid $3.20, $2.10 and $2.20 in the final.

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Spectacular Tide scored a 2 3/4-length victory in the $200,000 Sword Dancer Handicap at Saratoga.

The 4-year-old colt covered 1 1/2 miles on turf in 2:30 1/5 to earn $120,000 for his third victory in eight starts this year. Square Cut, who led to mid-stretch, was second in the nine-horse field. Favored Dr. Kiernan was third.

Spectacular Tide, ridden by Julie Krone, returned $10.60, $5.00 and $3.40. Square Cut paid $12.80 and $6.00 and Dr. Kiernan paid $2.80.

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Saintly Prospector took the lead in the stretch and scored a three-length victory over Wild Hacker in the $100,000 Omaha Gold Cup at Ak-Sar-Ben.

Ridden by Bobby Lester, the 3-year-old son of 1983 Kentucky Derby winner Sunny’s Halo was fifth after a half-mile in the 1 1/8-mile, Grade III race. He moved to second at the top of the stretch and then passed Wild Hawker on the way to a time of 1:50 3/5 over a fast track.

It was the fourth victory in 14 career starts for Saintly Prospector, who was coming off a ninth-place finish in the Grade II Arlington Classic on July 4. The victory was worth $60,000 to owner John Franks of Shreveport, La.