Post time for the dozen-race card is 6:50 p.m., with the sire stakes event going as races seven (purse $85,250) and eight (purse $86,750), respectively. The event again honors the memory of one of the true movers and shakers (not to mention a damn fine fellow) in the state’s harness program.
The opening event for the big boys offers some solid resumes, the haughtiest of which belongs to Springsteen (Dave Miller, post two). The season has been highlighted by a win in the half-million-dollar final of The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono’s Max Hempt Memorial (life-best 1:48.3).
He hits town, though, after faltering first-up in the his elim of the Adios. The son of Rock N Roll Heaven, co-owned (as Allard Racing) by (trainer) Rene Allard, Bruce Soulsby, Alan Weisenberg and Kapildeo Singh. has two wins in six starts ($286,500).
Rootin’ Tootin’ (Mark MacDonald, post six) has plied his craft versus statebreds, with sire stakes wins at Saratoga (life-best 1:52.1). The Roll With Joe colt is co-owned by (trainer) Blake MacIntosh, Stuart McIntosh, Robert MacNeil and Fred Brayford.
Topville Olympian (Brian Sears, post five) and Twin B Tuffenuff (George Brennan, post seven) have both been bridesmaids in their last two statebred sojourns.
Monday night’s second and final division finds the return of Art Rooney Pace winner Trump Nation (Jason Bartlett, post two). The son of Betterthancheddar, who wired that $300,000 event in a life-best 1:51.3, comes back after sire stakes wins at Buffalo and Saratoga.
For the season, he’s 5-for-8 with $238,896 in the till for co-owners Evan Katz and Crawford Racing.
My Delight (Brent Holland, post five) authored a 34-1 upset in a $23,066 division of the Reynolds here in mid-May, then won (at 14-1) a sire stakes event at Vernon (life-best 1:49.4). Ostro Hanover (Miller, post seven) tries it after a 10-1 statebred win at Saratoga.
Rockapelo (Sears, post 8) has hit the board in six of his eight 2018 tries, including a win (life-best 1:50.2) in his $24,000 division of Tioga’s Tompkins-Geers Stake.