A showcase of Delaware’s top horses will take place Thursday July 28 at Harrington Raceway, as $600,000 in purses will be up for grabs as part of the annual Governor’s Day program during the Delaware State Fair

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A special 11:00 a.m. first-race post time will kick off the 13-race program. The First State’s top-sired three-year-old horses will compete in four $100,000 finals of the Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund.

The first of those races to be contested will be the final for the pacing fillies (Race 3), in which Badlands Jenna (Ben Stafford, Jr., 2-1) will look to complete a sweep of the DSBF events for the second straight year. The Badlands Hanover filly has won 16 of her 21 career starts for trainer and co-owner Ben Stafford.

The trotting fillies will take centre stage in Race 4. Nanticoke Racing and Jim Morand’s Overnight Command (Jim Morand, 2-1) will look to keep her perfect 2011 campaign intact, as she will bid for a sixth consecutive win. Trainer Les Givens has dominated the DSBF trotting events in recent years.

The final for the trotting colts has been carded as Race 9. Mob Boss (Bret Brittingham, 2-1) will be bidding for a sweep after having won the final at Dover Downs and both of his eliminations at Harrington Raceway. He is trained by Anastasios Papadopoulos.

The last of the $100,000 finals will take place in Race 11, the second leg of the Pick-4. Three Martinis (Montrell Teague, 7-5) is the prohibitive heavy favourite for trainer George Teague, Jr.

Also on the program are events for older horses such as the $30,000 Legislator’s Cup (for aged mares), $30,000 Charles Murphy Memorial Trot (aged trotters), $20,000 and President’s Cup (aged horses). The feature for older pacers is the $40,000 Governor’s Cup. The Honourable Jack Markell, Delaware’s Governor, will be on hand to present the trophy to the winning connections. Trainer George Teague, Jr. will be bidding for a repeat with morning-line favourite Southwind Lynx (Montrell Teague, 5-2) (Teague won the 2010 edition with Mr Wiggles).

(With files from Harrington)