by Keith Gisser, for Northfield Park

Northfield, OH — The $100,000 (est.) Battle of Lake Erie is scheduled for Saturday night, July 23, and Northfield is seeking the sport’s top veteran pacers to race in the prestigious event.

This year’s Battle will be raced as a late closer and nominations are due Friday, July 1, 2011. The nominating fee is $1,000, with a $3,000 starting fee due on race night. Northfield Park will add $60,000 to the purse.

“The Battle fits into a good spot on the schedule for the Open pacers this year and the race has traditionally drawn the best veteran pacers in the sport — Gallo Blue Chip, Maltese Artist, Dragon Again and others — and we look forward to another great event this year,” said Executive Vice President of Racing Dave Bianconi.

The Battle will be limited to the eight highest money-winning horses in 2010-11 that enter, as of declaration time on Wednesday, July 20, at 9 a.m. (EDT).

The Battle of Lake Erie nomination form is available by clicking on this link.