by Tom LaMarra, for the Maryland Standardbred Race Fund

Laurel, MD — There are new dates for the fall round of Maryland Sire Stakes in light of changes in the schedule for the upcoming Rosecroft Raceway meet.

As approved by the Maryland Racing Commission at its meeting Thursday (Aug. 24), Rosecroft will race Saturdays and Sundays at 6:40 p.m. during its 26-day meet that runs from Oct. 1 through Dec. 23. There also will be two Friday night programs Nov. 3 and Nov. 24.

The sire stakes, all of them for 2-year-old divisions, will be held Saturdays and Sundays. As previously announced there will be two full sets of preliminaries and finals for each division.

First set:
Filly trotters and colt pacers: Preliminaries Saturday, Oct. 7, and Saturday, Oct. 14.
Colt trotters and filly pacers: Preliminaries Sunday, Oct. 8, and Sunday, Oct. 15.
All finals will be held Sunday, Oct. 22.

Second set:
Filly trotters and colt pacers: Preliminaries Saturday, Nov. 11, and Saturday, Nov. 18.
Colt trotters and filly pacers: Preliminaries Sunday, Nov. 12 and Sunday, Nov. 19.
All finals will be held Sunday, Nov. 26.

Two rounds of Maryland Sire Stakes 3-year-olds were held earlier this year, one at Rosecroft and the other at Casino at Ocean Downs. There are three rounds for 2-year-olds, finals for the first of which are scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 27 (colt trotters and filly pacers) and Monday, Aug. 28 (filly trotters and colt pacers) at Ocean Downs.

Ocean Downs will host the final Maryland Standardbred Race Fund stakes of the season, all for 2-year-old divisions, Sunday, Sept. 3.