The Grand Circuit’s second stop of the season at Plainridge Park features the Grade 3 $100,000 Bunker Hill Open Trot for 3-year-olds on Thursday (May 15) afternoon. A full field of 10 will go postward and feature five horses who are eligible to the 100th edition of the Grade 1 $1.2 million Hambletonian Stake on August 2 at The Meadowlands.
My Degenerate, Variegated, Karinchak, Civilian Drone and Goo Goo Gone will get their early work in as they point their seasons towards a Hambletonian start while the Massachusetts-bred My Degenerate and Moni Man will be the representatives of the host state’s breeding program.
The draw provided a very even field, but several starters have already put in solid stake efforts in their early starts this year.
My Degenerate (Muscle Hill-Decadence) made his second start of the year in the $115,500 Dexter Cup at the Meadowlands and came up a head shy of victory in a stellar 1:53 4/5 mile that featured a 26 4/5 kick home. My Degenerate finished his year strong in 2024 with a second-place finish in the Massachusetts Breeders Stake final, a 1:53 1/5 lifetime best by 13 1/2 lengths in an overnight at Harrah’s Philadelphia, and a fifth-place finish in the $447,000 Valley Victory trot. He seems to have carried that momentum into this season.
Tyler Miller will drive for trainer Julie Miller and will get underway from post seven.
Variegated (Chapter Seven-White Cheetah) similarly ended his freshman season with a bang after winning the $225,000 New York Sire Stake final and the $33,550 Reynolds Stake in successive starts. He hit the board in six of his eight outings and comes into this race as the highest money earner to date. He is also the only entrant making his first start of the year.
Trainer Marcus Melander has Dexter Dunn in the bike and has drawn post two behind the gate.
Karinchak (Chapter Seven-Sianna Hanover) put in some solid performances in the NYSS last year, where he scored his only victory of 2024. He also finished fourth, beaten only 2 3/4 lengths in that NYSS final before competing in the Breeders Crown elimination, where he made an unfortunate break. This year, Karinchak has run off three consecutive wins in the Weiss series at Mohegan Sun Pocono and comes into this race off a sharp lifetime best outing of 1:53 2/5 in that $50,000 final.
Mark Macdonald will be at the lines for trainer Ray Schnittker and will line up from post eight.
Civilian Drone (Chapter Seven-Southwind Snow) started last year in the NYSS, where he got his first lifetime victory at Vernon Downs. From there he saw tough competition on the Grand Circuit, facing the likes of Maryland while competing in the $390,000 Peter Haughton. Then after two third-place finishes in Kentucky stake action, he closed out his season in the Breeders Crown elimination where he finished seventh. In his first stake this year, Civilian Drone finished third, right behind My Degenerate in the Dexter Cup where he was race-timed in 1:54 3/5.
Civilian Drone will start from the second tier for driver Bruce Ranger, who received the assignment from trainer Nancy Takter.
The Bunker Hill Trot is carded as race six with an estimated post time Thursday of 5:40 p.m. The first race at Plainridge Park will go off at 4 p.m.
-edited release (Tim Bojarski for Plainridge Park)