from Tioga Downs

Nichols, NY — Fans of horse racing will be treated to a world-class afternoon of racing at Tioga Downs on Sunday (Aug. 20), headlined by the $200,000 (est.) Roll With Joe Open Pace presented by Blue Chip Farms and the $500,000 (est.) Empire Breeders Classic finals for the premier New York-sired 3-year-old pacers.

Allerage Farms photo

The filly is a daughter of the stallion Yankee Glide and her mother is Love Tale.

Off the track, fans will have a unique opportunity to enter a contest to name a baby horse that will hopefully go on to compete at the sport’s highest levels. The foal, a horse less than one year old, was bred at Jeff and Paula Gural’s Allerage Farms in nearby Sayre, Pa.

Race fans in attendance on Sunday will have the chance to submit their best name for the filly. The filly is a daughter of the stallion Yankee Glide and her mother is Love Tale.

A representative from Allerage Farms will pick their three favorite names and the winner will be the name that receives the most applause from the crowd. The person who submits the winning name will then receive one percent of the horse’s earnings during her 2- and 3-year-old racing seasons.

For complete contest rules visit www.tiogadowns.com.

The Empire Breeders Classic will feature a deep and talented group of sophomore pacers.

In the colt and gelding division, odds-on favorites Miso Fast and Funknwaffles were narrowly defeated in last Sunday’s eliminations by In A Single Bound and Art Scene, respectively. In the third elimination, Heaven’s Gait was a four length winner and has now won four straight races and six of his last seven.

Heavily-favored Clear Idea and Tequila Monday won the pair of eliminations for the fillies and loom as the ones to beat in Sunday’s final. Clear Idea, trained by Blake MacIntosh, has won seven in a row and earned more than $188,000 this year. Tequila Monday won her elimination a full second faster than Clear Idea and has had success on the Grand Circuit this season, winning the Lismore final at Yonkers and finishing third in the $321,200 Fan Hanover at Mohawk.

Post time for Sunday’s spectacular program is 1 p.m. Besides the three headlining stakes, the card also includes the third leg of the Miss Versatility for the sport’s top trotting mares and 2-year-old divisions of the Tompkins-Geers Stakes.

For more information, visit www.tiogadowns.com.