Meadows notebook: Melillo gets breakthrough victory
He had been knocking on the door in recent races.
Melillo was waiting for that one crack to clear a path to victory in a signature stakes race.
He found that crack and driver Ronnie Wrenn Jr. steered him to it and to victory in 1:50.4 Saturday in the $300,000 Grade 2 Carl Milstein Memorial for 3-year-old pacers at Northfield Park.
Melillo, trained by Ron Burke out of the Burke Racing Stable, Fredericktown, won for the third time this year.
He was close in the Grade 1 Meadowlands Pace, where he finished fourth by a head. He was then second in his Adios elimination and the Grade 1 Adios final to his stablemate Al Papi.
“He finally found room where he needed room late,” Burke said. “He really had a lot of pace and I was happy.
“He’s one step here and there from having a great season. He’s really coming along and, hopefully, finish his year strong like he is now and he’ll get his share. So, he finished last year strong. I’m looking forward to a strong finish and racing him next year, too.”
Early on, Melillo was caught on the outside with stablemate Aces And Cinches following him from the second tier.
“He’s peaking at the right time and there’s a lot of big races coming up,” Wrenn said. “When he got into the passing lane he exploded.”
Wrenn, who previously talked about how close the horse was to a big victory, said Melillo has taken a significant step.
“He’s figuring it out and knows how to win now,” he said.
In the stretch, Wrenn immediately sent Melillo through an opening and the colt responded, surging to the lead before having to withstand the late charge of Redland Rocket Man. Melillo had enough in left to win by a neck, with Fire Run finishing third ahead of Aces And Cinches and Borderline Mobby.
Melillo, son of Sweet Lou, is owned in addition to the Burke Racing Stable by Jason Melillo and Weaver Bruscemi. As the odds-on favorite Melillo returned $2.60 to win.
“He’s been knocking heads with the best horses in the country all year, and he’s been so close so many times,” Wrenn said. “I’m so happy for the horse. He deserves it.”
Adios trifecta
When the top-three finishers hit the wire just noses apart two weeks in the Sam McKee Memorial Pace at The Meadowlands, the board showed three of the best older horses in the nation battle to the finish.
Followers of the Delvin Miller Grade 1 Adios Pace noticed something else. Captain Albano, the winner, was the 2024 Adios champion. He narrowly beat Prince Hal Hanover (2025 Adios winner) and Bythemissal (2022 Adios winner).
Important dates
The 81st Little Brown Jug, the third jewel of the 3-year-old pacing Triple Crown will be contested Sept. 24 at the Delaware County Fair in Ohio.
In addition, the 2026 Breeders Crown will be held on Oct. 23 and 24 at Eldorado Scioto Downs (Ohio).
The series will feature 12 championship races with more than $7 million in purses. The races will be split over the two days, with the four finals for 2-year-olds taking place Oct. 23, and the eight finals for 3-year-olds and older horses are scheduled for Oct. 24.