by John Horne, for Tioga Downs

Nichols, NY — The Labor day matinee on Monday (Sept. 4) at Tioga Downs will feature two divisions of the New York Sire Stakes (NYSS) for sophomore pacing fillies. Both races look to be very entertaining as the first division will feature Empire Breeders Classic final (EBC) winner Obvious Blue Chip (Scott Zeron) and EBC elimination winner Tequila Monday (Brett Miller).

Fred Brown photo

Obvious Blue Chip was an upset winner in the EBC final at Tioga Downs.

Obvious Blue Chip (Roll With Joe), owned by NLG Racing Stable and Stephen Klunowski, is the morning line second choice at 3-1. The 3-year-old filly, trained by Mark Steacy, sat fourth for most of the race before charging late to win the EBC final two weeks ago.

She has four wins on the season, including a NYSS win at Buffalo Raceway in June.

Tequila Monday (American Ideal) was favored to win the EBC final after her convincing win in the eliminations. She would control the pace and lead all the way through three-quarters.

Owned by Northfork Racing Stable with Chuck Pompey and trained by Chris Oakes, she would fade in the stretch to finish eighth.

The defending NYSS champion, Tequila Monday has six wins this season, including a leg of the NYSS at Yonkers Raceway in July. The filly is the morning-line favorite at 5-2.

In the second division the morning-line favorite is Clear Idea (Mark McDonald) at 2-1. The 3-year-old filly by American Ideal was second in the EBC final. Prior to that she won seven races in a row including six NYSS races and her EBC elimination.

Owned by Hutt Racing Stable and trained by Blake Macintosh, she has won nine of her 16 starts this season.

Roaring To Go (Brett Miller) will be the toughest challenger. She almost reached Clear Idea in the EBC eliminations, losing by a neck, and was then fourth in the final.

Owned by Frank Chick and trained by Kevin Lare, Roaring To Go (Art Major) won a leg of the NYSS at Yonkers in July and is the morning line second choice at 5-2.

The 12-race card is a special Labor day matinee, starting at 1 p.m.

For more information go to www.tiogadowns.com.

To view the full fields, post positions, morning-line odds and connections on the full card, which includes five N.Y. Excelsior A and B events, please click here.