by Leon Zimmerman, for the New Jersey Sire Stakes

Trenton, NJ — New Jersey-sired 2-year-olds will be racing Wednesday (July 15) and Thursday (July 16) for a total of $435,000 in purses and a place in the $800,000 Championship Finals of the New Jersey Sire Stakes Premier Division at The Meadowlands.

The New Jersey-sired freshman trotting and pacing fillies will be racing for $217,300 in five races on Wednesday night, while the 2-year-old colts and geldings will vie for $217,300 in six races on Thursday night.

On Wednesday night, 19 pacing fillies purses will compete in two races, one for $58,000 and one for $57,500. There will also be three races for 29 trotting fillies with purses of $34,100 in two races and $33,600 in the other.

On Thursday, 26 2-year-old pacing colts and geldings will race for $39,800 in each of two races and $39,300 in the other. A total of 23 freshman trotting colts will compete for $33,100 in two races and $32,600 in the other.

Previous 2-year-old NJSS winners entered in this week’s races include the pacing filly Big Redhead (Red River Hanover), trotting colts Break The Bank K (Revenue S) and Classical (Classical Photo), and pacing colts Blue Rock (Rocknroll Hanover) and Foreign Officer (Western Ideal).

This will be the final preliminary leg in the NJSS Premier Division series for 2-year-olds at The Meadowlands, which will conclude July 23 with $800,000 in four championship finals of $200,000 each, largest purse total in any one night of N.J. Sire Stakes races in history.