by Moira Fanning, publicity director, the Hambletonian Society

Cranbury, NJ — The countdown has begun on entries for the $4.6 million Breeders Crown events, to be raced Saturday, Nov. 24, at The Meadowlands Racetrack, East Rutherford, N.J.

The $500,000 (guaranteed) Breeders Crown sophomore events carry a supplemental tag of $62,500.

Supplemental declarations for the four 3-year-old events are due and payable on Monday, Nov. 12, 2007 at 12:00 noon in the racing secretary’s office at the Meadowlands Racetrack. A one-time supplemental payment makes a horse eligible to subsequent years Breeders Crown events under the normal schedule of payments. There are no supplements for the 2-year-old races.

The starting fee is included in the supplemental amounts, and all supplemental money, minus the starting fee, may be added to the purse of the individual events.

Horses eligible to the Breeders Crown events must enter by 9:00 a.m., Tuesday, Nov. 13, also at the Meadowlands race office.

Eliminations for 2-year-old colt and filly trotters and pacers, if needed, will be raced on Friday, Nov. 16, and eliminations for 3-year-old colt pacers and trotters will take place on Saturday, Nov. 17.

The connections of elimination winners may pick their post position for the finals.

The Breeders Crown eliminations kick off the Holiday Harness Meet at the Meadowlands, which is loaded with first-class racing and exciting promotions.

All entrants in the $4.6 million Breeders Crown 2- and 3-year-old events may be subject to the New Jersey Racing Commission and the Hambletonian Society’s out-of-competition testing rules as a condition of entry in the Breeders Crown races. In addition, the normal parameters of post-race testing will apply.

The NJRC recently approved regulations to conduct out-of-competition testing for blood doping agents such as EPO (epogen) and DPO (darboepoetin) in racehorses competing at New Jersey racetracks.

The Breeders Crown out-of-competition rules, as specified in the racing conditions, were used for the first time in September at Mohawk Raceway, in co-operation with the host track, Woodbine Entertainment Group. All Breeders Crown horses entered in the Open races were blood-tested and cleared in the weeks prior to the event.

The NJRC also conducted out-of-competition testing for the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, raced in October at Monmouth Park.

Under the Breeders Crown conditions, blood samples may, without notice, be taken for testing of any racehorse participating in the Crown event, stabled on or off the grounds, in New Jersey or out of state. Additionally, all samples taken from these horses may also be frozen for future testing.

For more information visit www.TheMeadowlandsRacetrack.com or www.Hambletonian.org or call (609) 371-2211.