It may not rank up there with Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier or "The Rumble in the Jungle" between Ali and George Foreman, but on Friday at The Red Mile fans of Standardbred racing will get to see T C I vs. Karl in the second of five divisions of the International Stallion Stake for 2-year-old colt and gelding trotters. T C I perhaps gets top billing by virtue of a stakes résumé and bankroll that is inching towards being history-making. The Ron Burke trainee has already won the William Wellwood final at Woodbine Mohawk Park, the Peter Haughton Memorial at Harrah’s Hoosier Park, the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes final at Pocono Downs, and most recently the Mohawk Million. Those stakes wins, along with a record of nine victories in 10 starts, have resulted in earnings of $1,047,470. "He's a special horse. In the last couple of starts, he had a horrible week leading up to the race at Hoosier and was vicious. The other day [at Mohawk] he probably trotted [1:]52. He was 20 lengths behind. Thank god he didn't put in 25 gallops or he would’ve been taken down," said Burke, who discussed the break in stride which T C I overcame in the Mohawk Million. "He came back and trained great. I messed with his rigging one more time and we are just going to let him go back to what it was two starts ago." Going back to the earnings total, T C I is about $200,000 short of the single-season record for 2-year-old trotters held by Snow White (2007) at $1,252,646. The all-time record was set in 1986 by Redskin ($1,407,263). With the Breeders Crown final at Hoosier in late October going for $700,000, a win by T C I on Friday and in the Breeders Crown would put him on track to rewrite the record book. While Karl lacks the number of victories of T C I, it is hard to ignore the fact that he is undefeated in five career starts and owns three victories in faster times than his rival. "1:54 at Mohawk is 1:52 here [Red Mile]. I'm not worried about my horse; he'll go fast enough," said Burke. Karl's most recent victory came in a sizzling 1:51 2/5 at The Red Mile in a division of the Bluegrass on September 28, a full second quicker than any other rookie trotter this year. Prior to that he won the Kentucky Championshp Series final over the same surface. "I'm very happy with how he came out of that race and I'm looking forward to racing him this week," said trainer Nancy Takter, who joked that the meeting was inevitable this week. "If you would've asked me beforehand I would've guessed that it would happen." A case can be made that Karl needs to keep his unblemished record intact to remain neck and neck with T C I for divisional honors at the end of the year, but Takter wasn’t so sure. "I think it comes down to the Breeders Crown," said Takter, who added that she wished that was the first time the two heavyweights would meet up, a sentiment echoed by Burke. "We have to race at some point. I'm sure the other five people in with both of us aren't thrilled either," said Burke. "I'm not as worried racing him for $67,000 this week as I will be for $700,000 [in the Breeders Crown]." Both Takter and Burke are going into the race with confidence while remaining respectful of their competition. "My horse trained great; their horse is great. The fans will like it and it will be fun," said Burke. "I have much respect for T C I; he's been racing well all year and has made a million dollars," said Takter. Karl, who is owned by Christina&Nancy Takter, Black Horse Racing, Crawford Farms and Bender Sweden, drew post one with regular driver Yannick Gingras in the bike. T C I retains the services of David Miller from post five in the field of seven for owners Burke Racing Stable, Hatfield Stables, Knox Services and Weaver Bruscemi. Others signed on for that $67,800 third race on the 13-race card are Secret Agent Man (post two), My Way (post three), Stormcloudfashion (post four), Southwind Metric (post six) and Fly By (post seven). ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter Takter also provided some insight into her other starters in the 2-year-old colt and gelding divisions. In the fourth race she sends out Magic Hill from post five and expects the son of Muscle Hill to change tactics. "I think we will race Magic Hill from off-the-pace this week," said Takter. "I think that will be good for him. He hasn't raced a lot, and he needs more of a finishing type of mile. He's been struggling with some sickness all year." Bargain will go from post seven for Takter in the sixth race which starts the $10,000 guaranteed Pick 4. Although he is coming off breaks in two of his last three starts, she doesn't see a reason for concern. "Bargain made a break last week in the final turn, but we changed his shoes. He was having some interference problems, but hopefully we cleaned up his gait now, and he'll be a little sharper this week," said Takter. The afternoon Red Mile card with a 1:00 start time also features three divisions of the International Stallion Stake for 2-year-old filly pacers. Lyons Legend (post eight) and Blue Pacific (post one) renew their Bluegrass rivalry from a week ago - where the former won by a head - in the second race on Friday. The marquee filly pace comes in the seventh when the undefeated Geocentric puts her seven-race winning streak on the line for trainer Brian Brown and driver Tim Tetrick. The Pennsylvania and Kentucky Sire Stakes champion is ready to roll. "She seems pretty good. We worked on her feet, put a razor pad on and she seems to really like it," said Brown, who conditions for Milt Leeman, Alan Keith, Jim Stambaugh and Joe Sbrocco. The one concern for many of the connections racing on Friday as well as the fans in attendance may be the rain, as the early forecast is calling for a 50% chance of precipitation. "I hate racing in Lexington in the rain but what are you going to do," said Brown.