Nichols, NY — The 15th season of live harness racing at Tioga Downs begins on Kentucky Derby Day (May 2) as has become the custom at the Jewel of the Southern Tier. The racing season will cover 58 dates, racing Friday, Saturday and Sunday each week until the N.Y. Excelsior finals will bring the curtain down on Sept. 19.

Along the way the racing will continue to provide a solid option in the northeast with competitive overnight purses, a dependably safe and consistent racing surface and a comfortable environment for horsemen including the beautiful Tioga Downs Casino & Hotel.

The headlining stakes for the 2020 season are the $500,000 Empire Breeders Classic 3-year-old pacing stakes, a leg of the Graduate Series and the annual editions of FFA stakes for the older set.

While the Artiscape for pacing mares and the Crawford Farms and Joie De Vie trotting stakes remain in mid-August, the Roll With Joe FFA pace has been moved to June 14. While that date puts the Roll With Joe in direct conflict with the Graduate, it also falls into a spot to serve as a useful prep for the Ben Franklin eliminations a fortnight hence.

The 2020 racing application is available for download on the web and must be submitted by March 15. Nomination forms for the above mentioned stakes, all with a closing date of March 15, are also up on the site.