by Keith Gisser, director of publicity, Northfield Park

Northfield, OH — Northfield’s $135,000 Courageous Lady for 3-year-old filly pacers is Saturday, October 13, and the 63 nominees are headed by Jugette champ Western Graduate.

The daughter of Western Hanover won the Jugette two weeks ago and also took the $100,000 Pennsylvania Sires Stakes title this past Saturday at Pocono Downs.

She will attempt to become the third Jugette champ to also win the Lady. So Fresh (1992) and Towner’s Image (1993) are the only two to pull off the double, although Eternal Camnation, Pleasure Chest and several others have tried.

Mickey Burke trains Western Graduate for the partnership of Sylvia Burke, Tom Cherichello, George Leon and Lawrence Karr.

Stablemate Go On BB, owned by Frank Baldachino, prepped for the Courageous Lady this past Friday with a win in the $8,000 Mares Open Pace, unleashing a wicked closing brush for driver Matt Kakaley. Go On BB has won a remarkable 17 of 19 races this year, banking nearly a quarter of a million dollars.

A Monstrous Monday: The Lake Erie Monsters of the American Hockey League make their debut at Quicken Loans Arena on Saturday against Grand Rapids, and then travel to Northfield Park on Monday, October 8. No, we aren’t icing the infield lake for a Mystery, Alaska-type match-up with our horsemen, but fans will have a chance to meet the Monsters and get autographs.

Patrons will also be able to score Monsters gear as the club holds a supporters’ appreciation dinner in Northfield’s clubhouse restaurant.

The team is named for the legendary Bessie, a cousin of Nessie, who is said to live in Lake Erie where she eats blue pike and scares fisherman. The team is not named for local $4,000 claimer Laag Ness Monster.

Monster Mash: There will be Monsters (not of the Lake Erie variety) galore at Northfield on Saturday, October 27, as Northfield holds its annual Halloween costume contest with over $800 in cash up for grabs. Anyone dressed in costume gets free admission and a free live racing program that night.

Celebrity judges will crown costumed winners in Funniest, Scariest, and Most Unique categories, with first place in each category winning $100. The second place finisher wins $50 in each category, while the overall Best-in-Show entry wins $300. There is also a children’s category, featuring prizes from Chuck E Cheese and Toys R Us.

Your humble scribe hosts the event in costume, as usual. In the past, he has appeared as Frank Drucker from Yonkers Raceway; as the voice of the Little Brown Jug, Roger Huston; as half of the Beulah Twins; and as the handicapping herpetologist. Who will he be this year? Stay tuned.

This And That: The final fair action for the track’s $160,000 Night of Champions is upcoming. The top nine horses in each division get into the $20,000 Finals on Friday, October 12. The standings, updated through the Delaware Fair, can be found by logging on to www.northfieldpark.com/night_of_champions_home.asp…Northfield Park preferred patrons will have two chances to win during Championship Weekend, featuring the $160,000 Night of Champions on Friday, October 12 and the $135,000 Courageous Lady on Saturday, October 13. The top prize each night is $5,000, while three tickets nightly are worth $500. A mailer featuring the two mystery betting vouchers, one good on each night, as well as coupons for free programs to major upcoming events, should arrive in homes early next week…The mailer also features a coupon for a free Tuesday live racing program. Tuesday racing resumes on November 6 and continues through the end of the year, so mark your calendars.