Vernon, NY – Vernon welcomes two divisions of the New York Sire Stakes (NYSS) for trotting colts & geldings on Wednesday (June 24).

Two-year-old 2019 NYSS champion Third Shift, here winning a leg at Tioga Downs last year, makes his 2020 debut Wednesday at Vernon Downs. Fred Brown Photo.

The $59,000 first division features last year’s 2-year-old NYSS final winner Third Shift (Chapter Seven).  The colt won three times in eight starts as a freshmen including a lifetime best mark at Vernon Downs of 1:54.4.  He has earned over $210,000 in his career and will make his 3-year-old debut on Wednesday.

His top rivals include four-time winners Sky Castles (Jason Bartlett) and Bourbon Express (Tyler Buter), who will make their first starts of 2020. Sky Castles (Conway Hall) is trained by Andrew Harris.  He has amassed almost $114,000 in career earnings.  Jessica Okusko trains sophomore gelding Bourbon Express (RC Royalty).  He has earned more than $130,000 in his career.

In the $58,000 second division, the coupled entry of Barn Holden (Andy Miller) and Chaptiama (Trond Smedshammer) will be tough to beat.  Barn Holden (Conway Hall) is two-for-two this season with both wins at Vernon.  Trained by Steven Pratt, she has five career wins and almost $130,000 in earnings.  Chaptiama (Chapter Seven) finished second in the NYSS final last season.  Trained by Smedshammer, he will make his 3-year-old debut after two wins and more than $180,000 earned in 2019.

Berkery J (Scott Zeron) and Beerthirty K (Tyler Buter) should be their main competition.  Berkery J (Chapter Seven) won three times and almost $150,000 for trainer George Ducharme.  Beerthirty K (Credit Winner) is trained by John Berger.  He was one for eight and earned just short of $100,000 as a freshman.  They both start their sophomore seasons at Vernon on Wednesday.

The 15-race card on Wednesday starts at 4 p.m.

For more information go to http://www.vernondowns.com