Chester, PA — Warrawee Ubeaut, the fastest 2-year-old filly of all time by way of a 1:48.3 mile en route to her 2018 divisional championship, makes her seasonal debut Friday (May 3) at Harrah’s Philadelphia in the first seasonal installment of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes program. There will be two $83,240 Sire Stakes events for 3-year-old pacing fillies, while their Stallion Series counterparts will contest five $20,000 divisions.

Warrawee Ubeaut, shown in one of her 2018 victories, leads Friday’s Pennsylvania Sire Stakes at Harrah’s Philadelphia. Mark Hall/USTA photo.

The Sweet Lou filly Warrawee Ubeaut, one of six fillies trainer Ron Burke has entered in the Sire Stakes, will start from post seven in her Sire Stakes section for driver Yannick Gingras and the ownership of the Burke Racing Stable LLC, Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Phil Collura and J&T Silva-Purnel & Libby. Warrawee Ubeaut, who also was the richest freshman in 2018 with $646,995 in earnings, won her Breeders Crown event last year to cap a seven-win campaign which also included her world-record performance at Lexington, where she came home in :53.2. Warrawee Ubeaut has had two qualifying preps at The Meadowlands for her sophomore campaign, winning in 1:53.2 on both occasions.

The champion’s main rival may be the Somebeachsomewhere filly Stonebridge Soul, who won her last two starts as a freshman in stakes company before returning last week for trainer Chris Ryder and driver Dexter Dunn with a 1:53.1 win at Harrah’s Philadelphia. Also taking a shot at “the big girls” is another daughter of Somebeachsomewhere, Trillions Hanover, who won the 2018 Stallion Series final and was also victorious in her first start of the year in 1:52.3 at The Meadowlands for trainer Tom Fanning.

In the second Sire Stakes division, Sylph Hanover, another Burke trainee who upset at 13-1 in her Pennsylvania Sire Stakes final last season in 1:51.4, will start from post one. Matt Kakaley is the regular driver of the Somebeachsomewhere filly for the Burke Racing Stable, William Switala, James Martin and Joseph Critelli, and he was in the sulky when Sylph Hanover added the Matron Stakes to her list of credits towards the end of her 2-year-old campaign.

Sylph Hanover faces four horses who come off wins. Three of them are undefeated in their 2019 campaigns, while the other — stablemate Pretty N Fast — added her third straight win in a late-closing final at The Meadows.

The Sire Stakes events will go in races eight and 12; the five Stallion Series events will face the gate in races three, seven, nine, 11 and 13. Though currently in the lower division of the program, the Stallion Series fillies have already won 24 races among them this year, and some are only now finding their top form.

Post time for Friday’s card at Harrah’s Philadelphia is 12:25 p.m. There will be live racing on both Saturday (May 4) and Sunday (May 5) at 12:40 p.m., with the Saturday card featuring opening-round action of the 2019 Great Northeast Open Series.