The $6 million Breeders Crown, harness racing’s richest and most
prestigious year-end divisional championship series, returns Saturday, October
27, 2018 to The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
A press conference slated for noon Thursday, March 15 at the track
in Northeast Pennsylvania will unveil the plans for the star-studded 2018
season, leading with the new Breeders Crown event logo developed by GSI
Interactive. Opening night for live racing is Saturday, March 17 with a
post time of 7:00 p.m.
There
were 1,146 trotters and pacers made eligible with a February 15 payment to the
Crown events at Mohegan Sun – with the four-year-old and older payment group up
18%.
“I think
the spike in payments shows that people are excited about the Breeders Crown
returning to Pocono – it’s a proven venue with a spectacular racing surface,
and the hospitality and location continues the standards set by our recent host
tracks of Woodbine, The Meadowlands and Hoosier Park," said John Campbell,
president and CEO of the Hambletonian Society which owns and administers the
Breeders Crown.
Eliminations
for the Breeders Crown will be raced Friday, October 19 (the only Friday card
of the year at Pocono) and Saturday, October 20.
The Pennsylvanian Harness Horsemen’s
Association spearheaded the drive to put the historic five-eighths mile track
in Breeders Crown rotation, and Pocono was the first track to stage all 12
Breeders Crown races on one night with their inaugural hosting in
2010. All 12 races established new stake records for the Breeders Crown,
with two world records and one track record set that night.
The Downs
at Mohegan Sun Pocono next held all 12 “Crown” events in 2013, and saw
victories posted by Dan Patch Horse of The Year Bee A Magician, Pacer of the
Year Captaintreacherous and the richest Standardbred of all-time, $7 million
earner, Foiled Again.
Total handle on Breeders Crown elimination programs and final
nights in 2010 and 2013 exceeded $8 million, with more than 17,000 in combined
attendance.
Two years
ago the Pocono oval provided the setting for the fastest trotting mile in
history, when Knutsson Trotting’s Sebastian K broke the 1:50 barrier,
establishing a new speed standard of 1:49.
The Hambletonian Society is a non-profit organization
formed in 1924 to sponsor the race for which it was named, the Hambletonian
Stake. The Society’s mission is to encourage and support the breeding of
Standardbred horses through the development, administration and promotion of
harness racing stakes, early-closing races and other special
events. For more information, visit www.hambletonian.com.
