by Leon Zimmerman, for the New Jersey Sire Stakes
Trenton, NJ — A total of 972 2- and 3-year-old pacers and trotters are eligible to the lucrative New Jersey Sire Stakes program that will begin its 2008 pari-mutuel racing season at The Meadowlands on May 16 and 17.
The season will open with the first of three preliminary rounds of competition for 3-year-old pacing fillies on May 16 and colts and geldings the following night. A total of 82 fillies and 98 colts and geldings are eligible.
The first round of New Jersey Sire Stakes competition for 87 eligible 3-year-old trotting colts and geldings and 58 3-year-old trotting fillies is scheduled for May 26 and 28, respectively.
All four series will conclude with a record purse total of $700,000 in championship finals in one night, $175,000 in each of the four 3-year-old divisions.
NJSS Pari-Mutuel Division races for 2-year-olds, with two preliminary rounds and $175,000 championships, will begin in June and conclude in July. A total of 647 New Jersey-sired 2-year-olds are eligible.