The 2014 stakes season is set to get underway at Hoosier Park Racing & Casino on Wednesday, May 28, as four divisions of $20,000 Indiana Sires Stakes will showcase the top three-year-old trotting fillies in the state.
Revamped for the 2014 live racing season, Hoosier Park will debut a new and improved Indiana Sires Stakes format approved by the Indiana Horse Racing Commission last year. The 2014 Indiana Sires Stakes program will feature five legs throughout the season, and from each leg, the top 20 horses will return to compete in a final and consolation. The stakes program will culminate with the top 10 horses from each of the previous finals returning to compete in a $200,000 Super Final on October 18 at Hoosier Park.
“The new Indiana Sires Stakes format is a very positive change for our program,” Hoosier Park’s director of Racing and racing secretary Scott Peine noted. “It provides flexibility in the scheduling and having multiple eliminations for the $75,000 finals will produce very competitive races.”
“The Indiana Sired program continues to get better each and every year,” he continued. “This new format will allow Hoosier Park to showcase the best of the best in the $200,000 Super Finals. I am very much looking forward to this season of stakes action.”
The three-year-old trotting fillies will kick off the Indiana Sires Stakes action on Wednesday, May 28 with the three-year-old trotting colts highlighting the 14-race card schedule for Thursday, May 29. The three-year-old pacing fillies will take to the track on Friday, May 30 and the three-year-old pacing colts will follow suit on Saturday, May 31.
The first of five $75,000 Indiana Sire Stakes finals, tagged as Hoosier Champions Night, is scheduled for Saturday, June 7 at Hoosier Park Racing & Casino. Hoosier Park will once again partner with HRTV, the Network for Horse Sports, to offer racing fans a great weekend of harness racing action through exclusive coverage of Hoosier Champions night at Hoosier Park.
Live racing at Hoosier Park Racing & Casino will follow a Tuesday through Saturday schedule with a daily first-race post time of 5:15 p.m. The 160-day, all harness racing meet will offer an extended stakes schedule and be conducted through November 15.
(Hoosier)