by James Witherite, Tioga Downs racing media
Nichols, NY – Tioga Downs and Vernon Downs have announced
their 2014 stakes schedule, with an estimated $4.3 million in purses to attract
the top horses in New York and across North America throughout the season.
Tioga Downs opens their stakes season on Sunday, June 1 with
the $200,000e Roll With Joe Open Pace. New York Sire Stakes races
mark the calendar through June and July, leading up to the $350,000e Tompkins-Geers
Stakes for two- and three-year-olds of both gaits. Unlike years
past, where the Tompkins-Geers Stakes have been contested throughout an entire
week of racing, two-year-old pacers will have their events on Sunday, August 3,
while two-year-old trotters and three-year-olds of both gaits will race on
Sunday, August 17. Between the Tompkins-Geers events, New York-sired
sophomore pacers will take the spotlight on Sunday, August 10 in the $500,000e
Empire Breeders Classic, with separate events for each sex. If
needed, eliminations are scheduled for the week prior.
Labor Day (Monday, September 1) proves to be a banner day in
the Southern Tier, with a trio of stakes events headlining the
afternoon. The $110,000e Shady Daisy for three-year-old pacing fillies
and a $40,000e preliminary leg of the Miss Versatility for older trotting mares
comprise the undercard features for the day, while three-year-old pacers take
center stage in the $350,000e Cane Pace—the first leg of the Triple Crown for
pacers.
The $125,000 Reynolds Stakes for two-year-olds closes out
the stakes schedule at Tioga, with trotting divisions on Thursday, September 4,
and pacing divisions on Friday, September 12.
Vernon Downs kicks off their stakes season on Sunday, June
8, with New York-sired three-year-old trotters contesting the $500,000e Empire
Breeders Classic (like the pacers, separate events are held for each
sex). If eliminations are necessary, they will take place on Friday,
May 30. New York Sire Stakes events cover the early summer months,
leading up to the first of two big nights at Vernon on Friday, August
29. The $700,000e Harry Zweig Memorial Trot for three-year-olds once
again serves as the centerpiece of the Vernon Downs stakes schedule, with top
open trotters sharing the spotlight that night in the $200,000e Crawford Farms
Trot (formerly known as the Credit Winner).
Two-year-olds of both gaits and sexes contest the $100,000e
Simpson Stakes on Friday, October 24, leading up to a blockbuster Closing Night
program, featuring a trio of rich events on Saturday, November
1. Two-year-old trotters wrap up the Kindergarten Classic series
with a $200,000e final, and top distaffers compete in a pair of $200,000e
events as well—trotters in the Muscle Hill, and pacers in the Artiscape, which
moved to Vernon after being raced at Tioga in past seasons.
Nomination forms and more information can be found at www.tiogadowns.com and www.vernondowns.com.
