Last call for Feb. 15 stakes payments
February 14, 2012,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.
Nominations due at Balmoral and Maywood Park
Crete, IL — Balmoral and Maywood Park would like to remind horsemen that nomination payments are due on Feb. 15 for several big 3-year-old stakes events and the American-National Aged Stakes.
At Balmoral Park, nomination payments are due for the American-National 3-year-old colt pace, 3-year-old filly pace, 3-year-old colt trot and 3-year-old filly trot. Nomination payments are also due for the American-National Aged Pace and Aged Trot. All of these stakes will be contested on Saturday (Nov. 10).
Nomination payments are also due for Hanover Stakes for 3-year-old pacing and trotting colts and fillies. Those events will be contested on July 8, July 14 and July 15.
All Super Night nomination payments for Illinois bred 3-year-olds are due as well. Illinois’ biggest night of racing will be held on Saturday (Sept. 15).
More information and nomination forms can be found under the Horsemen’s Information section at www.balmoralpark.com.
Nomination payments for the Maywood Pace and Filly Maywood Pace at Maywood Park are due by Feb. 15 as well. The Filly Maywood Pace will be held on Friday (June 15) while the Maywood Pace will be one week later on Friday (June 22).
The nomination payments for the Windy City Pace and Cinderella Stake, which will be held on Friday (Nov. 16) are also due.
Information and nomination forms for these events can be found under the Horsemen’s Information section at www.maywoodpark.com.
For any other questions please contact the race offices at Balmoral Park, 708.672.1414 and/or Maywood Park, 708.343.4800.
— Tom Kelley
Indiana Downs payments due Feb. 15
Shelbyville, IN — Nominations for 3-year-old and aged early closers at Indiana Downs are due Feb. 15.
In addition, nominations for the Kentuckiana trot and pace are also due Feb. 15.
Information can be found on the Indiana Downs website by clicking on the following link.
Please note that all nominations are to be sent to the Hambletonian Society.
— Scott Peine
WEG’s stakes nominations close Wednesday
Toronto, ON — Nominations for Woodbine Entertainment Group’s spring series and major stakes events, including the C$1.5 million Pepsi North America Cup and the C$1 million Canadian Trotting Classic, close Wednesday (Feb. 15).
Also, sustaining payments are due for the 2012 Simcoe, Simcoe Filly and SBOA stakes events for 3-year-olds.
Nominations can be made online at this link.
If sending nominations by mail, envelopes must be clearly postmarked no later than the said due date or payment will not be accepted. Registered mail is recommended.
For more information contact Kim Neelands at 416.675.7223, ext. 4304.
— Ashley Mayotte
DSBF 3-year-old payments due
Dover, DE — Payments for eligible 3-year-olds to race in DSBF races in 2012 are due February 15, 2012. Any type of mail must have a 2-15 postmark. A list of horses eligible to make this payment is posted at www.desbf.com. The payment is $300.
The Dover races will begin the end of March and Harrington races begin the first of June. These horses will also be eligible for a 4-year-old overnight bonus in 2013. Forms must be used and are available on the referenced website.
For further information contact (302) 698-4610 or e-mail Judy.Davis-Wilson@state.de.us
— Judy Davis-Wilson
Payments due for Florida Stakes
Pompano Beach, FL — February 15 payments are due for 3-year-old Florida Breeders, Stallion, Sunshine Stakes and the Florida Keys Early Closer FSBOA #1.
— Rosie Huff
Maryland 3-year-old payments due
Union Bridge, MD — Three-year-old payments (foals of 2009) are due to the Maryland Standardbred Fund and the Maryland Sire Stakes on Feb. 15, 2012.
All staking forms, race dates and stallion pedigree’s are now available online. Please use our website 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 have updated the address for the Maryland Standardbred Race Fund, P.O. Box 540, Union Bridge, MD 21791
Regulations can be found on our website at www.msrfonline.com or you may call 410-775-0152 (o) or my cell at 240-285-0326.
— Cheryl Stambaugh
Ohio Sire Stakes payments due Feb 15
Columbus, OH — Nomination payments are due for the Ohio Sires Stakes on February 15. All envelopes must be postmarked on or before February 15. If you wait until the last day (Feb.15), please make sure you watch the post office employee postmark your envelope. Any envelope postmarked after February 15 must be returned. Some of the smaller post offices sendoff mail to the bigger cities without postmarking envelopes, thus possibly making your postmark late.
Nomination books will be available at the Blooded Horse Sale in Delaware, Ohio on Monday and Tuesday. Any other questions call (614) 466-7437.
— Doug Thomas
Meadowlands payments due East Rutherford, NJ — Meadowlands Racetrack would like to remind horsemen that nominations are due February 15 for the 2012 Early Closing program and the Meadowlands Pace. Stakes applications are available under the Horsemen Section at MeadowlandsRacetrack.com. Twelve of the 14 early closing stakes feature a 20 percent reduction in nominating and sustaining fees for 2012. The early closers [with estimated purses and dates of finals] include the $220,000 Arthur J. Cutler Memorial and $200,000 Graduate on May 12; $235,000 Titan Cup on June 30; $350,000 Stanley Dancer Memorial, $275,000 Del Miller Memorial and $300,000 Mistletoe Shalee on July 14; $225,000 Golden Girls on August 17; and $550,000 William R. Haughton Memorial on August 18. Six of the stakes are on the August 4 Hambletonian Day card: the $325,000 US Pacing Championship, $350,000 Sweetheart, $375,000 Merrie Annabelle, the $375,000 Peter Haughton Memorial, the $300,000 Woodrow Wilson and the $250,000 Lady Liberty.
London, ON — The Raceway at The Western Fair District wishes to remind horse people that an important deadline is fast approaching for nominations to the track’s two signature events.
This Wednesday (Feb. 15) is the deadline to nominate pacers to both the C$300,000 Molson Pace and the C$200,000 Forest City Pace.
The Molson Pace will be raced on closing night, Friday (May 25), and was won last year by North America’s top older pacer Foiled Again.
Conditions and nomination forms for all of The Raceway’s stakes events can be found online at www.westernfairdistrict.com.
— The Raceway at The Western Fair District media relations
Zweig and NYSS payments due Feb. 15 Nichols, NY — The Dr. Harry M. Zweig Memorial for 3-year-old trotters has undergone several important changes for this year’s edition. The conditions for the race have been revised from split divisions to a format that puts the top nine money winners for 2012 into the main event with a consolation for the next nine that enter. The 2012 races have been moved to Vernon Downs and the first sustaining payment comes due by Feb. 15. Nomination forms and conditions are available at the HHBNYS website. Some significant changes have been made to the New York Sires Stakes racing program for 2012. Replacing the NY Late Closer program is the brand new Excelsior series, which will include the historic New York State Fair events. For the upcoming season, the NY State Fair will not require a separate payment. To make your horse eligible for the NY State Fair races you must make the Feb. 15 and April 15 payments for the Excelsior series to the Ag Fund of New York State. — Nick Salvi February payments for all Hambletonian Society-serviced stakes due Cranbury, NJ — The initial payment deadline for eligibility to more than 119 stakes events, headlined by the $1.7 million Hambletonian at Meadowlands Racetrack and the C$6 million Breeders Crown events at Woodbine Racetrack is fast approaching. Payments for all Hambletonian Society serviced stakes must be postmarked by midnight on Thursday (Feb. 16) per USTA rule 12, section 4. The Hambletonian Society services 119 of harness racing’s richest and most prestigious events and provides one-stop shopping for your staking needs. Our website, www.Hambletonian.org contains all the tools and information necessary to stake your horse yourself. Race conditions, payment forms and much more information is now available online. For more information call the Society offices at 609.371.2211. Races with February 15 payments due: Delvin Miller Adios and Adioo Volo Filly Division; Arden Downs Stakes; Earl Beal Jr. Memorial Trot for 3-year-olds; Breeders Crown; Cane Pace and Shady Daisy Filly; Circle City for 3-year-olds; Cleveland Classic and Courageous Lady Filly; Currier & Ives Colt and Filly Trot; Dexter Cup and Lady Suffolk Filly Trot; Hambletonian and Hambletonian Oaks Filly; Max Hempt Memorial and James M. Lynch Filly; Historic Series; The Horseman; Indiana Pacing Derby for 3 & up Free For All pacers; Kentuckiana Stallion Management Filly Trot and Pace; Keystone Classics 3-year-olds; Landmark Stakes; Matron Stakes; Messenger Stake (Lady Maud); Monument Circle for 3-year-old colt and gelding pacers; Oliver Trotting Classic for 3-year old colt and gelding trotters; Pride in Progress for 3 & up Free For All trotters; Progress Pace; W. N. Reynolds Memorial Stakes at Meadowlands; Art Rooney and Lismore Filly Pace; John Simpson Memorial Colt and Filly Stakes at Meadowlands; Tompkins-Geers Stakes; Yonkers Trot and Hudson Filly Trot. — Moira Fanning OSS 3-year-old sustaining payments due Toronto, ON — The Ontario Sires Stakes Administration would like to remind everyone that the deadline for OSS 3-year-old sustaining payments is fast approaching. The C$700 payment must be postmarked on or before Wednesday, Feb. 15. All checks should be made payable and mailed (registered mail is recommended) to: Ontario Sires Stakes, 10 Carlson Court, Suite 400, Toronto, ON M9W 6L2. The C$500 OSS sustaining fee for 2-year-olds is due March 15. Reminder notices will be mailed next week. For more information please contact Karen Hauver, OSS Administration Coordinator, 519.369.3545. — Karen Hauver Harrah’s Chester stakes payment reminder Chester, PA — Horsemen are once again advised to send all nomination fees for stakes races at Harrah’s Chester this season directly to the race office at 1001 Harrah’s Blvd., Chester, PA 19013. Nomination fees for the Battle of the Brandywine, the Colonial, and the Valley Forge are due Feb. 15 to the race office. — Harrah’s Chester race office Payments due for Charles and Helen Smith trots
The Charles Smith and its filly companion event, the Helen Smith, are for 3-year-old New Jersey-sired trotters and are sponsored by the Standardbred Breeders & Owners Association of New Jersey.
The first sustaining payment of $200 is due on Feb. 15 with a second payment of $300 due on April 15.
Freehold Raceway will host the Smith trots. The $70,000 (est.) Helen Smith will be carded on Sept. 7, with eliminations on August 31. The $80,000 (est.) Charles Smith is scheduled for Sept. 14, with eliminations on Sept. 7.
Sustaining payments, in US funds only, should be sent by check or money order payable to SBOANJ. Please deliver or mail to SBOANJ, 64 Business Route 33, Manalapan, NJ 07726. All sustaining payments must be received on time to keep horses eligible. No billing notices will be sent.
Stakes forms are available on the SBOANJ website: www.sboanj.com.
— Carol Hodes
2012 Delaware Grand Circuit payments due Feb. 15 Delaware, OH — Sustaining payments for the 67th Little Brown Jug and the 42nd Jugette are due Feb. 15. These payments are for foals of 2009.
Sustaining payments are also due Feb. 15 for the Old Oaken Bucket 3-year-old Open Trot and the Buckette 3-year-old Filly Trot. Also, nominations for the Winbak Farm Pace for 4-year-olds and up, Delaware Open Series and the Ohio Breeders Championships are due Feb. 15.
The estimated purse for the 2012 Little Brown Jug is $700,000 and the estimated purse for the Jugette is $400,000. The Little Brown Jug, Old Oaken Bucket and Winbak Farm Pace will be raced Thursday afternoon (Sept. 20) and the 2012 Jugette and Buckette will be held on Wednesday afternoon (Sept. 19).
The 2012 Delaware Grand Circuit opens Sunday afternoon (Sept. 16) and will continue Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. There will be no racing on Monday.
Also, beginning in 2012, the maximum number of starters for the Little Brown Jug will be 24. This is a reduction from the former limit of 30 starters. Starting this year, if more than 24 horses declare in to start, the field will be limited to the 24 horses with the highest lifetime earnings.
“This 24 limit puts everybody on the gate,” said Phil Terry, general manager of the Delaware County Fair. “We have had complaints in the past from trainers and owners whose horses were forced to start from the second tier.”
All payments must be made to Tom Wright, P.O. Box 1560, Powell, OH 43065.
For the latest news and information about the Little Brown Jug as well as all other Grand Circuit racing, click on the Little Brown Jug website: www.littlebrownjug.com.
February 15 sustaining payments: Little Brown Jug No. 67-Open-3-year-pld pace-$750; Jugette No. 42-Pace for 3-year-old fillies-$500; Old Oaken Bucket No. 45-Open-3-year-old trot-$500; Buckette No. 45-Trot for 3-year-old fillies-$400.
February 15 nomination fees: Winbak Pace-Open Pace for 4-year-olds and up-$500; Delaware Open Pace-2-and 3-year-old colts, geldings, fillies-$100; Ohio Breeders Championships-Ohio bred 2- and 3-year-old colts, geldings, fillies-$200.
— Tom White
Payments due Feb. 15 for 2012 NJSS races
Trenton, NJ — The Feb. 15 deadline for the 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 2012 Premier and Green Acres racing programs.
The NJSS Premier Division will be contested exclusively again at Meadowlands Racetrack in 2012, starting in May for 3-year-olds and in July for 2-year-olds. The Green Acres Division begins August 31 at Freehold Raceway.
Beginning this year, participation in the Green Acres Program is limited to horses that have earned less than $25,000 in NJSS Premier Division races during the same calendar year.
The NJSS Premier Division’s first payment remains $300 for both 2- and 3-year-olds. The Green Acres Division payment remains $100 for both 2- and 3-year-olds.
Also on Feb. 15, a $650 supplemental 2011 yearling nomination (for foals of 2010) can be made for eligibility to the NJSS. That fee is in addition to the sustaining payments for 2-year-olds also due. If the foal is produced by an out-of-state breeding, the supplemental fee is $850.
Supplemental yearling nominations are also due Feb. 15 for the NJSS-sponsored 2012 Lou Babic Open Pace ($500) and Babic Filly Pace ($400).
The 2-year-old sustaining payment must be made in order to keep the horse eligible as a 3-year-old in 2013, even if the horse does not race in 2012 as a 2-year-old.
Forms for all payments may be downloaded from the NJSS website at www.newjerseysirestakes.com.
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.
— Leon Zimmerman