Back on track for its eighth season in 2023, Harrah’s Hoosier Park Racing & Casino has announced the return of First Turn Stable, a fractional ownership opportunity, for the 2023 live harness racing season.

The first of its kind in the state of Indiana, First Turn Stable was designed to provide fans an easy and affordable way to experience the excitement of horse ownership and educate for future ownership endeavours. Harrah’s Hoosier Park will begin taking new membership sign-ups throughout the early portion of the 2023 season, which kicks off on March 24.

First Turn Stable gives racing fans a chance to learn about horse ownership first-hand. The fractional ownership program, established in 2016, gives harness racing fans hands-on ownership experience for a one-time $250 buy-in.

First Turn Stable will welcome a new trainer for the 2023 racing season. Longtime Indiana trainer Casandra Uppal will be taking the reins of First Turn Stable in 2023. Uppal has been a highly respected trainer at Harrah’s Hoosier Park for the past several years, specializing in horses that compete in the claiming ranks. Uppal enters 2023 off another strong season in 2022, hitting the board in 62 of 151 seasonal starts for a respectable .253 UTRS, including 19 wins, and $187,689 in earnings. Over the course of her 28-year career, Uppal has sent more than 3,000 starters to the track and is knocking on the door of her 500th career training victory, with 481 currently and earnings of more than $2.6 million.

In a first for First Turn Stable, the fractional ownership group enters the 2023 racing season with horses already on the training roster. Retained from the 2022 racing season, First Turn Stable will be ready to go racing early in the season with its two-horse stable of Bay Rum and Rock On Creek.

Bay Rum (pictured above) is a venerable 10-year-old war horse, who has had multiple stints as First Turn Stable’s star pupil. He enters 2023 off an 18-start campaign in 2021, which featured five trips to the Harrah’s Hoosier Park winner’s circle, including a 1:51 blistering victory in July of 2022. The gelded son of Real Desire is out of the Blissfull Hall mare, Marvelous Melissia. Having made 177 lifetime starts, Bay Rum has hit the board 81 times , including 34 wins, on his way to earning $221,709 for his career.

Also on the First Turn Stable training roster for the 2023 season is the quarter-million-dollar-earning Rock On Creek. The Ohio-bred gelded son of Pet Rock was an Ohio Sire Stakes winner at age two, finishing fourth in the Ohio Sire Stakes Championship in a season that saw him earn $112,323. Now at age eight, Rock On Creek enters the year having banked $259,729 for his career, hitting the board in 43 of of his 99 lifetime starts, including 20 wins.

The program provides interactive social media pages, weekly e-mail updates and monthly financials that will be shared with members to provide a transparent and behind-the-scenes look into the real cost of owning a racehorse. Members can also enjoy monthly group visits to the Casandra Uppal stable located on property at Harrah’s Hoosier Park to visit and receive updates and meet the stable’s horses.

At the end of the racing season, the horse’s winnings and costs will be calculated and any profit will be split amongst the group’s owners. If the season results in a financial loss, Harrah’s Hoosier Park will offset the figure to bring the season to a breakeven for the participants.

For more information on First Turn Stable membership, guests are encouraged to reach out to Jacob Rheinheimer at [email protected] or at 765-609-4694. Guests can also check out the First Turn Stable Facebook Page for updates as the season approaches and Bay Rum and Rock On Creek get closer to racing.

Live racing returns to Harrah’s Hoosier Park on Friday, March 24, kicking off a highly anticipated season featuring the return of the Breeders Crown in October. For more information on the 2023 live racing season, guests are encouraged to visit harrahshoosierpark.com.

(With files from Hoosier Park)