from Saratoga Raceway

Saratoga Springs, NY — A summer of harness racing excellence, featuring the finest trotters and pacers bred in New York State and a new $250,000 open pacing series, gets underway at Saratoga Gaming and Raceway on Thursday (July 9) with four New York Sire Stakes Late Closer divisions for 3-year-old pacing colts.

“We begin with three consecutive Thursday nights of Late Closer competition followed by a fourth Thursday of top-tier Sire Stakes races for 2-year-old pacing fillies on July 30,” says Saratoga Racing Secretary Don Hoover. “And that’s just the start of more than two months of racing that stands to be faster, more intense, and more exciting than anything we’ve seen in our track’s history.”

The schedule of special July events, combined with the track’s regular high-caliber racing dates, set the stage for a sizzling August when the weather and the competition gets hotter still. Seven nights of Sire Stakes and Late Closer racing coupled with elimination legs of the inaugural Joe Gerrity Jr. Memorial Open Pacing Series for 3-year-olds and up complement the month’s racing calendar. Named in honor of the Raceway’s past chairman of the board, the Gerrity series elimination legs will be contested on four consecutive Saturdays. Top point earners will compete Labor Day weekend in the $37,500 series finale and a $25,000 consolation pace.

“Add to that more than a million dollars in New York Sire Stakes (NYSS) and Late Closer purses and you begin to see why we’re really excited about the weeks and months ahead,” says Hoover.

The month-by-month schedule of special summer dates is as follows:

• July: Thursday (9) Late Closer 2-year-old colt pace; Thursday (16) Late Closer 3-year-old filly trot; Thursday (23) Late Closer 3-year-old filly pace; Thursday (30) NYSS 3-year-old filly pace.
• August: Wednesday (5) NYSS 2-year-old colt trot; Thursday (6) NYSS 2-year-old filly trot; Saturday (8) Gerrity Open Pace first leg; Thursday (13) Late Closer 3-year-old colt trot; Saturday (15) Gerrity Open Pace second leg; Thursday (20) Late Closer 2-year-old filly trot; Saturday (22) NYSS 3-year-old colt trot and Gerrity Open Pace third leg; Wednesday (26) NYSS 3-year-old filly trot; Saturday (29) NYSS 2-year-old filly pace and Gerrity Open Pace fourth leg.
• September: Wednesday (2) Late Closer 2-year-old trot; Thursday (3) NYSS 2-year-old colt pace; Saturday (5) Gerrity Open Pace final and consolation; Saturday (12) NYSS 3-year-old colt pace; Sunday (13) Late Closer 2-year-old colt trot; Sunday (20) Late Closer 2-year-old filly pace.

The Sire Stakes events allow the most talented horses to shine in the major league of New York-bred racing. Horses also compete for accumulated points and a chance to race in the $175,000 championships at the end of the season. The Late Closer series similarly provides an opportunity for late-developing statebred horses to race for slightly less lucrative purses. Top point earners from each division are invited to the $30,000 finals.

“It all adds up to some very special racing. We’re excited, the horsemen are excited, and I know the fans are going to be excited about what’s ahead,” says Hoover.