by Gabe Prewitt, publicity director, The Red Mile

Lexington, KY — Entries have been taken and post positions drawn for opening night of the 134th season of harness racing at the Red Mile.

The 2009 meet gets underway on Sunday, August 2, with a first post of 6:30 p.m. There are 13 races on the opening night card, highlighted by three $10,000 Kentucky Fair Finals that will go as the first three races on the program.

Racing will continue over the course of the next eight weeks on Sunday, Monday and Thursday evenings with a 6:30 p.m. first post. The Red Mile will once again host a fantastic night of champions on Sunday, September 6, where eight KYSS finals will be contested for $300,000 each for Kentucky-bred 2- and 3-year olds. Purses for the night will be in excess of $2.4 million and last year over $10,000 was given away to fans in attendance.

The 2009 Grand Circuit meeting will begin on Tuesday, September 29. Racing will be conducted Tuesday through Saturday with a first post of 12:30 p.m. through October 10. The $700,000 Kentucky Futurity, the third leg of the trotting Triple Crown, will be raced on Saturday, October 4. Purses for the ten-day Grand Circuit meeting are expected to be in excess of $8 million.