Plainville, MA – Live racing returns to New England’s premier harness track on Monday (April 13) at 4 p.m. when Plainridge Park opens its 2026 season. The 110-day meet will run through Tuesday (Nov. 24) and feature some of the best horses, drivers and trainers in North America who will compete in high-caliber overnight and stakes action all year long.
The first two cards are drawn and track personnel have been hard at work for weeks now getting the barn area, paddock, track and grandstand, all “race ready” for the participants and fans on opening day.
“It’s been a very hard winter here and we’ve put in a lot of time getting things ready for the opening. But it will be great to see all our horse people shipping back in and welcome back all our loyal patrons, both on and off track. Harness racing is not only an excellent compliment to the entertainment and gaming offered at Plainridge Park, it also employs hundreds of people and contributes substantially to the local economy, making it a win for everyone involved,” said Steve O’Toole, director of live racing at Plainridge Park.
The racing schedule changes several times throughout the season, but starts in April with a Monday-Tuesday-Thursday rotation before switching to a four-day, Monday-Tuesday-Thursday-Friday slate in May and June. Then it reverts back to the Monday-Tuesday-Thursday three-day format in July, August and September. October will have four days once again on Monday-Tuesday-Thursday-Friday, before closing the session in November with three days on Monday-Tuesday-Thursday.
Post times also vary throughout the year. From April to August it’s 4 p.m. In September and October, post time rolls back to 2 p.m. And then in November it moves back once more to 1 p.m.
There are three exceptions in the schedule to note. Plainridge will race on Saturday (May 2) and Saturday (May 16) with special Derby and Preakness promotions, and with the same 4 p.m. post. Then there is Sunday (July 19) when Plainridge presents the Spirit of Massachusetts Trot and Clara Barton Distaff Pace, starting at 2 p.m.
The driver colony remains one of the best around and will have all the top reinsmen returning this year.
Last year’s leading dash winning driver at Plainridge, Bruce Ranger, will look to defend that title against a stellar roster of resident reinsmen including Brett Beckwith, who fell just three wins shy of that title himself in 2025. Beckwith is currently the second leading dash driver in North America (behind only Aaron Merriman) and is currently the leading driver at both The Meadowlands and Saratoga Raceway by a large margin.
Joining them will be Nick Graffam, Mitchell Cushing, Matty Athearn and Kevin Switzer Jr., who all won in excess of 100 races at The Ridge last season, along with many other talented sulky-sitters.
On the training side, Gretchen Athearn, who won her first conditioning title at Plainridge last year with a total of 52 wins, will return with a powerful string of horses and look to double up on those honors. Athearn is currently campaigning last year’s horse of the year at Plainridge, Always Bstunning N, on the Grand Circuit at Yonkers Raceway in the Ursula McIntyre series, but the highly esteemed mare will return to compete at Plainridge later this year.
Jimmy Nickerson, who had been the leading trainer at Plainridge for four straight years before finishing second to Athearn last year, will also be bringing back a large string of solid horses this season to try and win back his crown.
Domenico Cecere, who finished third in the win standings while posting an unbelievable .514 UTR in 2025, will also be returning along with a host of local favorites including Jolene Andrews, Jeff Cullipher, Mike Graffam, Kathleen Brewer, Julia Eaton, Jackie Greene, Mitchell Cushing and Melissa Beckwith, to name a few.
The 2026 meet will again be rich in stakes action, including four United States Trotting Association graded stakes that will make up a total of six Grand Circuit races with combined purses of almost three-quarters of a million dollars up for grabs.
First on the schedule is the $100,000 Paul Revere Open Pace for 3-year-olds, which will be held on Saturday (May 2). Then on Saturday (May 16), the $100,000 Battle Of Bunker Hill 3-year-old trot will go postward. Both of these races are Grade 3 stakes.
Then on Sunday (July 19), it’s the Grade 2 Stake, Spirit Of Massachusetts Trot, which will be contested for $300,000 this year. Also that day is the Grade 3 Stake, Clara Barton Distaff Pace, which also had a purse increase to $150,000 this year.
Then on Monday (Oct. 12) it’s the Reynolds Stake for 3-year-old pacers, which will be contested by gender. The Tar Heel is the $40,000 colt and gelding division and The Leta Long is the $40,000 fillies division.
Finally, the fall classic $3.2 million (est) Massachusetts Breeder Stakes starts on Monday (Sept. 28) and features three preliminary legs before culminating on Thursday (Oct. 29) when the finals will be contested.
Here is a complete schedule for this year’s Massachusetts Sire Stakes:
Monday, September 28, 2026
2-year-old First Leg
Tuesday, September 29, 2026
3-year-old First Leg
Monday, October 5, 2026
2-year-old Second Leg
Tuesday, October 6, 2026
3-year-old Second Leg
Monday, October 19, 2026
2-year-old Third Leg
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
3-year-old Third Leg
Thursday, October 29, 2026
2 and 3-year-old Finals
These stakes races are made possible by the continued support of the Massachusetts Race Horse Development Fund and the local horsemen and women of the Harness Horseman’s Association of New England.
As far as wagering goes, there is a new feature bet at Plainridge this year and it’s the Rolling Double. Every race now has a Double wager. Race one and two, race two and three, race three and four, and so on.
On a regular 10-race program, this year’s betting menu includes win, place, show, exacta, trifecta, rolling double, and superfecta wagering in every race, except in race six and nine where the superfecta is replaced by the Wicked Hi-5 pentafecta. Then there is a Pick-3 in race three and six and a Pick-4 in race five.
And once again, fans will be able to download free full past performance programs from the Plainridge Park website at plainridgeparkcasino.com/racing, where they can also view replays of all the racing action along with finding more information pertaining to the upcoming meet.