by Dustin Ross, regional racing operations manager, Tioga/Vernon Downs

Nichols, NY — More than $916 million in earnings and 65,000 career victories, and two Hall of Famers, are just a few of the highlights on the resumes of the nine drivers ready to compete in the fourth annual $40,000 Drivers’ Championship at Tioga Downs on Sunday, August 1. Top prize of the event is $25,000 along with a 14 carat gold commemorative ring from Bow River Jewelry and bragging rights until 2011.

The field for the 2010 Drivers’ Championship is as follows:

1. Tim Tetrick: The “Bionic Man” has caught fire in the past two weeks winning the $1 million Meadowlands Pace with One More Laugh, the $500,000 Ben Franklin Open Pace with Vintage Master, and the $340,000 Amrbro Flight with Buck I St Pat. It will be the fourth straight Drivers’ Championship for Tetrick, who finished fourth in last year’s edition.

2. George Brennan: The “Minister of Speed” will embark on his first Drivers’ Championship on Sunday afternoon. Brennan has been on a roll at the Meadowlands in 2010 and currently leads in earnings and wins at The Big M. Earlier in 2010 Brennan set the all-age Tioga Downs track record with Shark Gesture in 1:48.3 in the Bettor’s Delight Open Pace.

3. Brian Sears: The “White Knight” was co-champion of the first Drivers’ Championship with Yannick Gingras in 2007 and has banked more than $5 million in earnings thus far in 2010. Sears will look to get back to his winning ways in Sunday’s competition after a seventh place finish in 2009.

4. Jason Bartlett: The 2009 Drivers’ Championship winner ranked his triumph last year at the top of his career driving accomplishments after taking home the $25,000 grand prize. This year will mark the debut of the Jason Bartlett bobblehead in honor of his 2009 Drivers’ Championship victory, and they will be given out on Sunday.

5. Ron Pierce: He was in position to win the 2009 Drivers’ Championship entering the five-eighths-mile “dash for the cash,” but got parked and had to settle for second place behind Bartlett. Pierce seeks revenge in 2010 and will be participating in his fourth straight Drivers’ Championship event.

6. Dave Palone: Palone was recently given the highest honor in harness racing on the July 4th weekend in Goshen, New York where he was inducted into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame. Palone currently ranks second for most wins in the history of North American harness racing behind Herve Filion, and has won the HTA Driver of the Year award six times. Dave was scheduled to participate in the 2009 Drivers’ Championship, but got stuck in the Philadelphia airport due to weather delays.

7. Yannick Gingras: The two-time winner of the Drivers’ Championship edged into the event in the final day and gets another chance to capture his crown. Gingras was co-champion of the event in 2007 and won the outright title in 2008. In 2009 Yannick was honored for his victory with the Yannick Gingras bobblehead giveaway, but had to settle for fifth place.

8. John Campbell: The 2010 sponsor’s exemption is the most decorated driver of all time in the sport of harness racing. Campbell is the all-time leading driver in earnings with more than $269 million, has more than 10,000 wins on his resume, six Hambletonian titles, and was also the youngest driver ever to be inducted in the Harness Racing Hall of Fame at the age of 35 in 1990.

9. Bruce Ranger: The 2010 Tioga Downs leading money-winning driver has earned more than 7,800 wins and banked more than $30 million during his career. Ranger has been a staple at Pompano Park and has been at the top of the driver standings there for years. This was his first summer spent at Tioga Downs, and he will make his first appearance in the Drivers’ Championship as the hometown favorite.

The draw for the 2010 Drivers’ Championship takes place on Thursday, July 29, with the box closing at 9 a.m. Purses for the Drivers’ Championship races are increased by 20 percent and horses finishing sixth through ninth will each receive $100. Drivers participating in the Drivers’ Championship will be distributing their 5 percent earnings on the Drivers’ Championship races to the Standardbred Retirement Foundation with the exception of George Brennan, who will be donating his 5 percent to the Wounded Warrior Project, which helps wounded soldiers when they return from battle. Tioga Downs will match all the money raised for charity, along with Jeff Gural, who will personally match it as well.

The first post on Sunday, August 1, is scheduled for 1:30 p.m., but the day will kick off at 12 p.m. with a driver meet and greet and autograph session, along with the Jason Bartlett bobblehead giveaway on the trackside apron, while supplies last.

We would like to thank our sponsors who make this event possible: Accumark Digital, Allerage Farms, All Events Engraving, Big Dee’s Tack and Vet Supplies, Binghamton Senators, Bow River Jewelry, CGL, Clear Channel Community Press Paper, Delaware County Fair, The Horsemen and Fair World, HTA, Hub International, Lexington Selected Yearling Sale, LP Ciminelli, L.V. Harkness & Company, Maine Source, NTRA, Oakdale Mall, Roberts Communication Network, STHHA, Stueben Farm, Tele-photo Technologies, Tioga Downs, VIP Structures, and Winbak Farm.

For more information visit www.tiogadowns.com.