Columbus, OH – On Tuesday (Feb. 18), the U.S. Trotting Association announced that Graded Stakes information is now available in Pathway pedigrees. In addition, Graded Stakes information will be included in all sales catalog pedigree pages this year.
“The availability of graded stakes information in the Pathway pedigrees now and later during the year in catalog pages is a result of a great deal of work by the Graded Stakes Committee and our USTA staff for their implementation of adding this valuable information to our pedigrees,” said USTA Executive Vice President and CEO Mike Tanner. “We set a goal of having this ready before the Board of Directors annual meeting in March and have plans to add the graded stakes information to many other areas of our statistics and data.
A Graded Stakes Committee was formed in 2023 at the request of major sales companies and breeders, with the support of the USTA. The purpose of the 11-member committee was to provide the harness racing industry with a guide to the relative quality and racing class of horses by identifying U.S. and Canadian races whose recent renewals have consistently attracted the highest quality competition.
USTA catalog pedigree pages will display stakes grades from 2021 through 2024, as well as for restricted races during that same period. Grades for stakes will be available for racetracks to use for marketing purposes but will not be ready for past performances until a later date.
When the original announcement was made on Sept. 23, 2024, Graded Stakes Committee Chairperson Mark Loewe explained the reasoning for forming the committee and creating the graded stakes program.
“This is an opportunity to promote the Grand Circuit and the top open races this industry has always wanted to showcase,” said Loewe. “It’s a pretty big thing. This is something that’s been talked about for many years, and whether people agree with the grades or not, it’s something I think the industry has needed for a long time. We really think graded stakes will be advantageous for everyone involved.”
To see a sample Pathway pedigree, click here.
For more information on Graded Stakes, click here.
The inclusion of Graded Stakes information in other stats and data will be announced as it becomes available.