Jun 24, 2019 4 min read

At The Meadows

Despite fronting the first quarter in a contested 26.3, Classicality retook past the quarter and won comfortably in Monday’s $20,000 Open 1 Handicap Trot at The Meadows.

Brian Zendt handled Classicality confidently, and the 9-year-old Classic Photo-Penn Worthy Lane gelding rewarded him by scoring powerfully in 1:53.3, 2 lengths better than Dayson, who rallied from last to grab second. Barn Girl finished third.

Lisa Dunn owns and trains Classicality, who won his second straight and now boasts $674,627 in career earnings. It was one of three wins for Zendt on the 13-race card.

Flyers trade

for center

The Dallas Stars have acquired right wing Ryan Hartman from the Philadelphia Flyers for center Tyler Pitlick.

The trade was announced Monday, two days after the end of the NHL draft and a week before the start of free agency.

Hartman had 12 goals and 14 assists while playing 83 regular-season games last season. He played 64 games for Nashville before getting traded to Philadelphia, where he played 19 more.

The 24-year-old Hartman has 42 goals and 47 assists in 245 career games over five seasons with Chicago, Nashville and Philadelphia. He was the 30th overall pick when Chicago drafted him in the first round in 2013.

Pitlick had eight goals and four assists in 47 games for Dallas, and then played in six playoff games for the Stars.

Edmonton picked Pitlick in the second round (31st overall) in the 2010 draft.

Mets fined for tirade

Mickey Callaway needed two news conferences to issue one apology.

After the New York Mets fined their manager and pitcher Jason Vargas for their expletive-filled confrontation with a reporter following a weekend loss, Callaway stopped short of saying he was sorry for the incident during his first meeting with the media on Monday.

Callaway cursed at Newsday beat reporter Tim Healey and Vargas had to be restrained from charging him in the cramped Wrigley Field clubhouse after a 5-3 loss on Sunday. There was no physical contact.

Two hours after Callaway initially met with a large group of media members and 70 minutes before first pitch in Philadelphia, Callaway clarified his remarks.

“In my meeting with Tim, I apologized for my reaction,” Callaway said. “I regret it. I regret the distraction that it’s caused to the team. … It’s something I’m not proud of. I’m not proud of the distraction. I’m not proud of what I did to Tim. For that, I’m definitely sorry.”

General manager Brodie Van Wagenen announced the fines but not disclose the amount. He said the team spoke to MLB and didn’t expect any further discipline.

“We are committed to trying to create a healthy work environment for everybody,” Van Wagenen said. “The altercation was disappointing. It was regrettable on many levels.”

Vargas issued a statement but didn’t answer questions.

“I think it’s unfortunate for all parties, an unfortunate distraction,” Vargas said.

• The Chicago Cubs says right-handed closer Craig Kimbrel could be activated later this week.

Kimbrel signed a three-year, $43 million contract on June 7. He is set to pitch in another game at Triple-A Iowa today. Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said Monday the team will evaluate his progress.

Epstein called today’s outing an important checkpoint for Kimbrel. He said the team will see how Kimbrel is feeling and make a decision on what direction to go after today.

Epstein said: “There’s certainly a chance that at the very end of this homestand or early on the next road trip we could be seeing him.”

Kimbrel allowed one run in 2/3 innings for Iowa on Saturday. It was his only run allowed in 2 2/3 innings over three appearances.