Monticello, NY – The Glamour Division of the New York Sire Stakes – 3-year-old male pacers – visits Monticello Raceway on Monday (Aug. 3). The seven-horse dash has a purse of $119,000. The elite group is headed by the top two point-earners in the division, Fragment and Knoxville. Also on tap are two divisions of the $20,000 Excelsior Stakes.
The Sire Stakes event is race 8. Fragment (post 5), the talented and well-bred son of Huntsville-The Show Returns, is trained by Per Engblom for owners Engblom Farm LLC, Doug Sipple and Peaceful Acre Farm. The sophomore sidewinder has two Sire Stakes wins thus far, at Tioga Downs in 1:49.3 and he just missed the track record at Saratoga with a 1:51.4 score. He also won the Grade 2 MGM Grand Messenger Pace at Yonkers in 2:21.4 at the distance of 1-1/4 miles, defeating recent Adios winner Al Papi.
He is the seventh leading money-earner among 3-year-old male pacers, with $234,400 in just four starts. His freshman season included wins in the Night of Champions NYSS final, the Matron Stakes and the Big Apple Pace, and a second-place finish in his Breeders Crown elimination. Fragment will be driven by Jason Bartlett, who already has driven winners to two track records this season at the Mighty M.
Knoxville (post 6) will be driven for the first time by Brent Holland. The son of Huntsville-Let’s Fall In Love is trained by Ray Schnittker. He is the division’s point-leader, with Sire Stakes wins at Buffalo and Vernon Downs, where he took his lifetime mark in 1:50.3, and an Excelsior win at Goshen. He defeated Fragment earlier in the year in a Sire Stakes win at Buffalo Raceway.
The track record for 3-year-old male pacers is 1:52.1 set by Kenneth J in 2007.
Post time for the 11-race card is 12:10 p.m. (EDT).