from the Kentucky Sires Stakes

Lexington, KY — The best of harness racing in the Bluegrass will be on display Sunday afternoon (Sept. 16) at The Red Mile when the historic Lexington racetrack hosts the $2 million Kentucky Sires Stakes finals. The 10-race card gets underway at 3 p.m. (EDT) and is the centerpiece of the new Fayette County Fair that will run from noon until 6 p.m.

Sunday afternoon’s 10-race card features the eight divisional KYSS championship races, worth $250,000 each, as well as a pair of $50,000 consolation events. The fields were set after three preliminary legs were contested over the past three weeks at The Red Mile.

The opening quartet of KYSS finals are for the 2-year-olds. The first-year male trotters kick off the championships (race three) and the field of 10 include four preliminary winners, including two-time victors Forecast (son of Cantab Hall, post one) and Super Schissel (Uncle Peter, post four). Also in the race are prelim winners Lindy’s Crazy Hall (Cantab Hall, post seven) and Don’t Let’em (Muscle Hill, post three), who earlier this year won the Peter Haughton Memorial at The Meadowlands.

Among the 2-year-old filly trotters (race five), Taylor Swiftly (Trixton, post five) has created nothing but bad blood between her and her rivals by being mean and sweeping all three preliminaries.

The 2-year-old filly pacer Beautyonthebeach swept her three opening rounds and the daughter of Somebeachsomewhere may be tough to beat in that divisional final (race four) as she landed post one.

The road to division honors among the freshman male pacers (race six) appears to go through Captain Trevor, a son of Captaintreacherous who has been most impressive while capturing all three of his prelims.

Only two 3-year-olds who won KYSS finals last year at two are back to defend their title. One of those is the filly trotter Top Expectations, who was two-for-two in this year’s opening two legs. The daughter of Cantab Hall drew post one in this year’s final (race seven).

The 3-year-old filly pacer Band Stand is the other returning champion, but this year the daughter of A Rocknroll Dance may have her work cut out for her as she finished eighth in the point standings after a second, sixth and fourth in the prelims. Band Stand starts from post four in this year’s final (race eight) with the role of favorite likely going to Dance Blue (post three), a daughter of Rock N Roll Heaven who won both her opening rounds in open-lengths fashion.

Race nine is the $250,000 KYSS final for 3-year-old male trotters. Tactical Landing, a son of Muscle Hill who last month captured his Hambletonian elimination and finished third in the $1 million final, starts from post one after a third and first in the KYSS preliminaries. Wolfgang, a son of My MVP and a leg one winner who is Tactical Landing’s stablemate in the barn of trainer Jimmy Takter, starts from post four. Classichap, a son of Chapter Seven who raced and won his only KYSS appearance in leg three last Monday night, starts from post three.

The sophomore male pacers close out the championship card in race 10. American History (post six), a son of American Ideal, is two-for-two in this year’s KYSS and is one of three Tony Alagna trainees going postward (Rush To Judgement, post one) and Legal Power (post four). Grand Teton (post three), a son of A Rocknroll Dance who won the first KYSS leg, is one of three Takter trainees in the race, along with Thinkbig Dreambig (post five) and Decoy (post eight).

The eight KYSS finals encompass an all stakes 20-cent Pick-8 wager with a guaranteed $10,000 pool in conjunction with the U.S. Trotting Association’s Strategic Wagering Program. The Pick-8 has a low takeout rate of only 15 percent. The wager will feature a mandatory payout, so the entire net pool will be paid for the most winners if nobody selects all eight winners.

Admission is free and the Fayette County fair will include food trucks, local craft breweries, bourbon tastings and an arts and crafts market. Several music acts will play on two stages (one inside and one outside), with rising country star and Lexington native Walker Montgomery, Avery Crabtree and Conch Republic among the performers. Montgomery is slated to perform on the outdoor stage from 4-6 p.m. The racing program gets underway with a horse parade of various breeds and the Harness Horse Youth Foundation will offer hands-on equine experiences.

Saturday night’s (post time 7 p.m.) 10-race card features three $50,000 KYSS consolations, including races for 3-year-old filly trotters, 2-year-old colt trotters and 2-year-old filly pacers.