Saratoga Casino and Raceway will showcase several of the North American standardbred industry’s most heralded individual performers in the fifth annual Joe Gerrity Jr. Memorial Free for All Pace on Saturday, August 17.

In the past, the Joe Gerrity Jr. Memorial has been held as a series of legs, culminating with the finals. This year, the memorial pace features one dash for $275,000. First-race post time is scheduled for 7:05 p.m., and race fans in attendance will receive a coupon redeemable for a commemorative 2013 'Gerrity Night' t-shirt with purchase of a $2 program.

The Joe Gerrity Jr. Memorial FFA Pace is comprised of an elite eight-horse field with combined lifetime earnings in excess of $11 million, headlined by leading North American trainer Ron Burke’s Foiled Again, a winner of over $550,000 in 2013 with a mark of 1:48. Another entry of note is Peter Foley’s Bolt the Duer, a winner of $334,000 in 2013 with a mark of 1:47.4. Saturday’s Joe Gerrity Jr. Memorial will mark the third time these two marquee pacers have crossed paths, with Bolt The Duer coming out on top in both the William R. Haughton Memorial, and the United States Pacing Championships, which each took place earlier in 2013 at the Meadowlands Racetrack.

The Memorial was created in 2009 as a pacing series honouring the memory of Joe Gerrity Jr. and his many contributions. A highly respected leader, inspiration and an icon for Saratoga Raceway and the horse-racing industry, Gerrity was a breeder of horses in Loudonville, a licensed harness driver and became chairman of the board of Saratoga Harness Racing, Inc. (now Saratoga Casino and Raceway) on April 1, 1987. He later oversaw the expansion of the facility and the installation of video gaming machines, funding the project in part himself. Gerrity also served as a director for the Harness Horse Breeders of New York State for 20 years, and also acted as treasurer for much of that time. Gerrity passed away in October of 2005.

The field for the race appears below.

Joe Gerrity Jr. Memorial Free for All Pace
(Post - Horse - Listed Driver)
1 - Shoobees Place - Pat Lachance
2 - Clear Vision - Brett Miller
3 - Versado - Pat Berry
4 - Foiled Again - Jim Morrill Jr.
5 - Bolt The Duer - Mark MacDonald
6 - Domethatagain - Marcus Miller
7 - Sapphire City - Shawn Gray
8 - Great Vintage - Larry Stalbaum
AE1 - Code Word - Joe Bongiorno

(With files from Saratoga)