by Nick Salvi, for The Red Mile

Lexington, KY — The Red Mile and the USTA are very pleased to announce an immediate increase in the guarantee amount to $20,000 for Friday’s Pick-4 pool. Bolstered by a $5,609 carryover from Thursday night’s card, both organizations are confident the betting public will find great value in Friday night’s Pick-4 wager.

Click here to download the program pages.

Headlining Friday’s (September 30) races at The Red Mile are four divisions of the $340,000 Walnut Hall LTD Cup Bluegrass Stake for 2-year-old trotting colts and two splits of the Walnut Hall Stock Farm sponsored $270,000 Bluegrass for 2-year-old filly pacers.

Trotting colts will take the stage in races four, seven, nine and 11 and Ray Schnittker’s Delano is the morning line choice in division one. The Credit Winner-Kelly Hall colt has won five of nine this season, including a track record 1:55.2f in a NYSS event at Tioga Downs. Schnittker bypassed the $175,000 NYSS final over the half-mile track at Saratoga to race this colt over Lexington’s one mile clay strip, so he’s here with a purpose.

The powerful Jimmy Takter stable’s only entrant in this stake is Little Brown Fox, who will come to the race as the linemaker’s choice in race seven fresh off his third place finish in the rich Wellwood stakes at Mohawk. He’s lightly raced and improving rapidly.

Fashion Farm and trainer Jim Campbell have several impressive freshman trotters and will be well represented in the ninth race by Pekoe Fashion, who looks to rebound from his first career loss in the PASS final.

In the 11th race, the speedy American Gangster will attempt to redeem himself from an untimely break as the odds-on favorite in the Wellwood final after setting a Canadian record in his elimination for owners, Hauser Brothers Racing, Theresa Silva, and Vincent and Matt Tudisco.

In the filly pace the undisputed queen of the castle, Brittany Farm’s American Jewel, makes her Red Mile debut for trainer Jimmy Takter. The American Ideal-Trim Hanover filly has won all seven of her starts while amassing nearly $600,000 and lowering the world record for her division to 1:50.2 in the process.

The wickedly fast Economy Terror has lost only two races in her brief career, both of those to the aforementioned American Jewel, and was in close attendance both times. Economy Terror has a speed standard of her own of 1:51.1f taken in the PASS final for trainer Chris Oakes. Marty Party set all the fractions for the PASS final, held game until the bitter end to be third and has her sights set on revenge.

Post time for the Red Mile card is 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, with a 1 p.m. matinee on Sunday’s Kentucky Futurity Day program. Visit www.theredmile.com for more information.