by Matt Sparacino, publicity director, Harrington Raceway

Harrington, DE — A showcase of Delaware’s top horses will take place Thursday (July 28) at Harrington Raceway as $600,000 in purses will be up for grabs as part of the annual Governor’s Day program during the Delaware State Fair.

A special 11 a.m. post time is slated for the 13-race program. The First State’s top sired 3-year-old horses will compete in four $100,000 Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund final events.

The first of those races to be contested will be the final for filly pacers (third race), in which Ben Stafford and Winbak Farm’s Badlands Jenna (2-1, Ben Stafford, Jr.) will look to complete a sweep of the DSBF events for the second straight year. The Badlands Hanover filly has won 16 of her 21 career starts for trainer and co-owner Ben Stafford.

The filly trotters will take center stage immediately after as the fouth race carded. Nanticoke Racing and Jim Morand’s Overnight Command (2-1, Morand) will look to keep her perfect 2011 campaign intact, as she bids for a sixth consecutive win. Trainer Les Givens has dominated the DSBF trotting events in recent years.

The colt trotting final is carded ninth on the program, with Lawrence and Barbara Mayer’s Mob Boss (2-1, Bret Brittingham) bidding for a sweep after winning the final at Dover Downs and capturing both of his eliminations at Harrington. He is trained by Anastasios Papadopoulos.

The last of the $100,000 finals will take place 11th on the program, as the second leg of the Pick-4. Badlands Racing, George Teague and GP Patel’s Three Martini’s (7-5, Montrell Teague) will likely be a heavy favorite for trainer George Teague, Jr.

Also on the program are events for older horses such as the $30,000 Legislator’s Cup (older mares), $30,000 Charles Murphy Memorial Trot (older trotters), $20,000 President’s Cup (older horses) and the feature for older pacers is the $40,000 Governor’s Cup. The Honorable Jack Markell, Delaware’s Governor, will be on hand to present the trophy to the winning connections.

Trainer George Teague, Jr. will be bidding for a repeat with morning line favorite K&R Racing and George Teague, Jr. Inc.’s Southwind Lynx (5-2, Montrell Teague), after winning the 2010 event with Mr Wiggles. The task won’t be easy, however, as Morgan and Jeanne McInnis’ Cams Art (3-1, Jim Morand) will look to become only the second Delaware bred to win the event and he sports the highest seasonal earnings in the field with $161,785. The 4-year-old Cams Fortune gelding is trained by Ryan McInnis.