The Cane Pace will find a new home in 2015. For the first time, the first
leg of the pacing Triple Crown will head to The Meadowlands. It will join
the star-studded Hambletonian Day card on August 8, 2015.
The
move is one that is not only great for The Meadowlands, but for the harness
racing industry.
“Having
the best three year old pacers in the sport competing on Hambletonian Day is
going to be great for The Meadowlands and Hambletonian Day,” said Meadowlands
Chairman Jeff Gural. “The Cane Pace is so rich in its history and
it deserves a place on harness racing’s biggest stage and adding it to
The Hambletonian Day card will do just that.”
In
addition to the Cane Pace, it’s filly counterpart, the Shady Daisy, will also
join The Hambletonian Day program. The Meadowlands will also be adding a
“sister race” to the John Cashman Memorial for the aged mare trotters on
Hambletonian Day.
“The
Hambletonian is a spectacle in itself,” said General Manager Jason Settlemoir,
“but these additions to The Hambletonian Day card means there will be a major
stake race for every category of standardbred that are age three or
older. I think these additions to program will make the 2015 Hambletonian
Day program the greatest Hambletonian Day card the sport has ever seen.”
“In
addition, I would like to thank our sister track, Tioga Downs, for being such a
great host of this event for the last few years. This move is done with
the vision to solidify The Cane Pace as not only an integral part of pacing’s
Triple Crown, but also to solidify its status as one of the premier races for
the three year old pacers each year and Hambletonian Day at The Meadowlands
provides the platform to accomplish just that.”
There
will be some adjustments made to the conditions of the Cane due to its new
location on the racing calendar.
“There are an abundance of races for the three year old pacers over the course
of the summer,” said Director of Racing Operations Darin Zoccali. “The
major change to the race will be that it will not contest eliminations, which
we feel will make the race more appealing to the leading three year old pacers.
No eliminations will also enhance the purse of the Cane Pace Final for
2015. We will provide full details regarding the updated conditions of
The Cane Pace in the near future”
The Cane Pace is the first leg of Pacing’s Triple Crown. It was created in 1955
and originally raced as “The Cane Futurity.” The Meadowlands will be the
fifth host track of The Cane Pace, joining Yonkers Raceway, Freehold Raceway,
Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs and Tioga Downs as venues that have hosted the
first jewel of pacing’s Triple Crown.
