from harness publicists across North America

The Feb. 15 deadline is drawing near for many stakes payments. Below are a list of notices that have been submitted to the USTA Newsroom.

Note: Date correction on Meadows Maturity

Columbus, OH —The Meadows Racetrack is hosting a new stake this year sponsored by the The Meadows and The Meadows Standardbred Owners Assoc. for 4&up Trotters. It is called the Meadows Maturity. Due to a small date mix up the 4&up H&G Trot was originally printed as racing on a Sunday May 3 and that is not correct, it is actually on Saturday May 2. Nomination Payments are due February 15 to the Hambletonian Society, Inc.

Meadows Maturity Trot 4&UP H&G T EC $50,000 E USD 05-02-2015

Meadows Maturity Trot 4&UPM T EC $50,000 E USD 04-24-2015

— USTA Communications Dept.

Payment due for OSS eligible 3-year-olds

Toronto, ON — Owners of Ontario Sires Stakes eligible 3-year-olds are reminded that February 15 is the deadline for the 3-year-old OSS sustaining payment of $700. However, since the 15 falls on a Sunday this year and Monday is a holiday, payments postmarked by Tuesday, February 17 will be accepted.

Checks should be made payable and mailed (registered mail is recommended) to:

Ontario Sires Stakes

90 Sheppard Ave E., Suite 200

Toronto, ON M2N 0A4

The $500 OSS sustaining fee for 2-year-olds is due March 15 and reminder notices will be mailed this week.

For more information please contact:

Karen Hauver

OSS Administration Coordinator

519 369-3545

— OSS

DSBF 3-year-old payments due

Dover, DE — The 3-year-old payments on DSBF eligibles are due to be postmarked by Feb. 15. The amount is $300.

Because the 15th falls on a Sunday and the following Monday is a federal holiday a postmark of Feb. 17 is acceptable.

A payment of $100 must have been made on March 15, 2014, in order to be eligible to make the payment.

We can accept credit cards.

The first race at Dover is March 23. Qualifying time for pacers is 2:06 and trotters is 2:10.

E-mail Judy.Davis-Wilson@state.de.us for information or call 302.698.4610.

— Judy Davis-Wilson

Meadowlands Stakes nomination information

East Rutherford, NJ — Nominations to all Grand Circuit races administered by The Meadowlands have a February 15 (February 17 accepted per USTA rule) postmark deadline. You may find all pertinent information on those stakes by visiting the Stakes Application page on the Meadowlands website.

Also due by the same date are the last series of Late Closers of the spring meet, the Whata Baron, Artistic Vision and Giant Victory.

Questions may be directed to the Racing Office at 877-782-2537.

— Meadowland Media Relations

Payments for Adios, inaugural Meadows Maturity Trots due Feb. 15

Washington, PA — The Meadows Racetrack & Casino would like to remind trainers and owners that payments for the 2015 Delvin Miller Adios and for two new stakes, the Meadows Maturity Trots for 4-year-olds and up, are due by Feb. 15.

Payment for the “Pace for the Orchids,” a premier event for 3-year-old pacers with an estimated $500,000 purse, is $600. That payment also maintains the eligibility of sophomore pacing fillies to the $150,000 (est) Quinton Patterson Adioo Volo. Eliminations for the Adios take place Friday, July 25, with the Adios final and the Adioo Volo set for Saturday, Aug. 1.

The Meadows Maturity Trots include an event for mares (Friday, April 24) and a stake for stallions and geldings (Saturday, May 2), each with an estimated purse of $50,000. A $300 nomination fee is due by Feb. 15, with a second payment of $600 due by March 15.

Checks for all events should be made payable to the Hambletonian Society. For more information, please contact the office of the race secretary, 724.225.9897.

— Evan Pattak

WEG stakes deadline Feb. 17

Toronto, ON — The deadline for nominations to several of the Woodbine Entertainment Group’s major stakes events, including the Pepsi North America Cup, is rapidly approaching.

Nominations to the $1 million Pepsi North America Cup, C$685,000 Canadian Trotting Classic, C$455,000 Fan Hanover, C$410,000 Elegantimage, C$270,000 Goodtimes, C$225,000 Somebeachsomewhere and the C$125,000 Casual Breeze stakes events close Tuesday (Feb. 17).

Along with the nominations to those events, sustaining payments are also due on Feb. 17 for the 2015 Simcoe, Simcoe Filly and WEG SBOA stakes, all for 3-year-olds.

Once again in 2015, WEG is handling the stakes administrations for all Alliance racetracks.

Nominations to the Confederation Cup for 4-year-olds at Flamboro Downs, the Battle of Waterloo and Battle of the Belles at Grand River Raceway also close on Feb. 17.

To view full information on the events that close on Feb. 17 and all WEG stakes events, click here.

All nomination fees are payable to the Woodbine Entertainment Group and can be made online or by mail.

To make stakes nominations online, click here.

If sending nominations by mail, envelopes must be clearly post-marked no later than said due date or payment will not be accepted. Registered mail is recommended.

— WEG media

FSBOA payments due Feb. 15

Pompano Beach, FL — FSBOA stakes payments are due by Feb. 15 for 3-year-old Florida breds.

The races and amounts due are as follows: FL Breeders Stake-$100, FL Stallion Stake-$100 and Sunshine State Stake-$100.

Since the 15th falls on a Sunday and Monday is a holiday this year payments postmarked by Tuesday (Feb. 17) will be accepted.

Sustaining forms or making payments online are available on our website (www.myfsboa.com) or contact Rosie Huff at 954.972.5400.

— Rosie Huff

Maryland staking payments due

Union Bridge, MD — Sustaining forms and possible payment are due Feb. 15 for the new 4- and 5-year-old Open Maryland Sire Stakes for trotters and pacers (foals of 2010 and 2011).

The 3-year-old payments (foals of 2012) are due to the Maryland Standardbred Fund and the Maryland Sire Stakes on Feb. 15 as well.

All stallion pedigrees, staking forms, and stakes dates are now available online including a printable calendar. Please use our website (www.msrfonline.com) for all your current MSRF info and any updates as they become available.

We recommend that all payments be sent by certified mail. Please remember to check and make sure you use this address for the Maryland Standardbred Race Fund: P.O. Box 540, Union Bridge, MD 21791.

As per regulation: If the due date for a payment falls on a weekend or a holiday observed in this state, the payment shall be timely if mailed bearing a postmark which is not later than the next business day. Since we have both a weekend and holiday a postmark of Feb. 17, 2015 will be accepted.

Regulations can be found on our website at www.msrfonline.com or you may call 410.775.0152 (office) or my cell at 240.285.0326.

— Cheri Stambaugh

Pocono Early and Late Closer nomination deadline is Feb. 17

Wilkes-Barre, PA — Nominations to all the Late and Early Closing events at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs may now be postmarked by Feb. 17. The extra days are because Feb. 15 is a Sunday and Feb. 16 is a holiday.

Events that are included in this list are the Bobby Weiss Late Closer for 3- and 4-year-olds, the Pa. All-Stars events for 3-year-olds, the Sun Stakes Saturday events, and the Super Stakes Saturday events.

Complete racing conditions and payment information for all these racing events can be found on the Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs Horsemen page.

— Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs Race Office

Smith Trot payments due Feb. 17

Manalapan, NJ — First sustaining payments of $200 for the Charles I. Smith Trotting Classic and the filly companion event, the Helen Smith, for 3-year-old New Jersey-sired trotters are due on Feb. 17 to the Standardbred Breeders & Owners Association of New Jersey.

Payments, in US funds only, should be sent by check or money order payable to SBOANJ to the SBOANJ office at 64 Business Route 33, Manalapan, NJ 07726. For further information, call 732.462.2357. Sustaining payment forms are available on the www.sboanj.com website.

The $50,000 (est.) Helen Smith is scheduled for Sept. 11 (eliminations Sept. 4) and the $60,000 (est.) Charles I. Smith is on Sept. 17 (eliminations on Sept. 10), both at Freehold Raceway.

The Charles I. Smith and Helen Smith are sponsored by the Standardbred Breeders & Owners Association of New Jersey.

— Standardbred Breeders & Owners Association of New Jersey

NJSS sustaining payments due Feb. 17

Trenton, NJ — The deadline for New Jersey Sire Stakes first sustaining payments is the last chance for owners of NJ-sired 2- and 3-year-old pacers and trotters to be kept eligible to the 2015 Premier and Green Acres racing programs. Because Feb. 15 falls on a Sunday this year and Presidents’ Day will be observed on the following Monday, the deadline for mailing purposes will be Feb. 17.

The NJSS Premier Division will be contested exclusively again at The Meadowlands in 2015, starting in May for 3-year-olds and in late June for 2-year-olds. The Green Acres Division begins Sept. 4 at Freehold Raceway.

Once again this year, the NJSS rule is that the Green Acres Program is limited to horses that have earned less than $25,000 in New Jersey Sire Stakes Premier Division earnings during the current calendar year.

The NJSS Premier Division’s first sustaining payment remains $300 for both 2- and 3-year-olds. The initial Green Acres Division payment remains $100 for both 2- and 3-year-olds.

Also on Feb. 17, a $650 supplemental 2014 yearling nomination (for foals of 2013) can be made for eligibility to the New Jersey Sire Stakes. That fee is in addition to the sustaining payments for 2-year-olds also due on Feb. 17. If the foal is produced by an out-of-state breeding, the supplemental fee is $850.

The 2-year-old sustaining payment must be made in order to keep the horse eligible as a 3-year-old in 2016, even if the horse does not race in 2015 as a 2-year-old.

Supplemental yearling nominations are also due Feb. 17 for the NJSS-sponsored 2015 Lou Babic Open Pace ($500) and Babic Filly Pace ($400).

These payments must be in U. S. funds. No late payments will be accepted and no billing notices will be mailed. Certified mail is strongly recommended to NJSS, P.O. Box 330, Trenton, NJ 08625.

For further information call Christopher Castens at 609.292.8830.

— Christopher Castens

February payments for Hambletonian Society-serviced stakes due

Cranbury, NJ — The initial payment deadline for eligibility to more than 127 stakes events at 14 different tracks, headlined by the $1 million Hambletonian at The Meadowlands on August 8 and the $5 million Breeders Crown events at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto on Oct. 24, is fast approaching.

Because of the federal holiday on Monday, payments for all Hambletonian Society serviced stakes are due Tuesday (Feb. 17) and must be postmarked by midnight on Wednesday (Feb. 18), per USTA Rule 12.02.

Important changes to the 2015 stakes landscape include the canceling of the Historic Stakes for this year only; a host of new races and changes to existing ones in Pennsylvania, Indiana and Ohio and the freshman Fall Final Four Championships rotating back to The Meadowlands this year.

New races with Feb. 15 payments due:

• Dan Patch (was an Invitational, now an early closer in 2015)
• Cleveland Trotting Classic (4-year-old and up trotters)
• Crossroads of America (3-year-old filly trot)
• Jenna’s Beach Boy (3-year-old colt pacers)
• Meadows Maturities (4-year-old and up horse and mare trots)
• USS Indianapolis Memorial (3-year-old filly pacers)

The Hambletonian Society services more than a hundred of harness racing’s richest and most prestigious events and provides one-stop shopping for your staking needs. The website contains all the tools and information necessary to stake your horse yourself. All information pertaining to these races — racing conditions, payment forms and much more information — is now available online at www.hambletonian.org or by calling the Society offices at 609.371.2211.

In all cases only one check (U.S. funds) is ever necessary for each of the four payments periods i.e.: Feb. 15, March 15, April 15 or May 15.

All races with Feb. 15 payments due:

• Delvin Miller Adios (and Adioo Volo Filly Division)
• Arden Downs Stakes
• Battle of Lake Erie (early closer in 2015)
• Breeders Crown
• Cane Pace (and Shady Daisy)
• Carl Erskine (3-year-old colts)
• Centaur Trotting Classic Free For All
• Circle City (3-year-olds)
• Cleveland Trotting Classic (4-year-old and up trotters)
• Courageous Lady (3-year-old filly pace, early closer in 2015)
• Crossroads of America (3-year-old filly trot)
• Currier & Ives Colt and Filly Trots
• Dan Patch Pace (early closer in 2015)
• Dayton Derbies (open trot and pace)
• Dexter Cup (and Lady Suffolk Trot)
• Goldsmith Maid
• Governor’s Cup
• Hambletonian (and Hambletonian Oaks)
• Hambletonian Maturity (4-year-old trotters)
• The Horseman
• Hoosier Park Pacing Derby Free For All
• Jenna’s Beach Boy (3-year-old colt pacers)
• Kentuckiana Stallion Mgt. Pace and Trot (2-year-old fillies)
• Keystone Classics (3-year-olds)
• Landmark Stakes
• Matron Series (3-year-olds)
• Meadows Maturities (4-year-old and up horse and mare trots)
• Messenger Stake (and Lady Maud)
• Miami Valley Distaff (4-year-old and up mares — pacers and trotters)
• Carl Milstein Memorial (3-year-olds)
• Monument Circle (3-year-olds)
• Progress Pace
• W. N. Reynolds Memorial Stakes
• Art Rooney Pace (and Lismore Filly Division)
• John Simpson Memorial Colt and Filly Stakes
• Three Diamonds
• Tompkins-Geers Stakes
• USS Indianapolis Memorial (3-year-old filly pacers)
• Valley Victory
• Yonkers Trot (and Hudson Filly)

The following races are no longer serviced by the Hambletonian Society and should be sent instead to Pocono Downs.

• 2015 Pennsylvania All-Stars
• 2015 Earl Beal Jr. Memorial
• 2015 Max C. Hempt Memorial
• 2015 James M. Lynch Memorial
• 2015 Ben Franklin
• 2015 Super Stakes

For more information, go to http://mohegansunpocono-px.rtrk.com/racing/horsemen.html.

— Moira Fanning