The New York Sire Stakes (NYSS) will have a big impact on Wednesday afternoon (June 24) in the 15-race program at Buffalo Raceway as four $58,000 USD (approx.) events are set for the three-year-old trotters. And there's one race that looks to be a battle of two of the best.
The headline event will be the 10th race as the two-year-old filly Breeders Crown queen Storybook Love (Chapter Seven-Sterling Debutant) will square off with NYSS defending two-year-old filly trotting champion Sharp Seven (Chapter Seven-Lookin Sharp).
Storybook Love gets the four-hole with driver Todd Ratchford in town to steer this O'Brien Award-winning damsel trained by Matt Bax. A winner of $687,226 last season and $764,925 in her career for owners Al Libfeld of Pickering, Ont., and Brad Grant of Milton, Ont., she is still in search of her first win of 2026. Storybook Love has picked up cheques in all four starts this year, including a pair of second-place finishes, missing by just a half-length in the NYSS leg at Vernon Downs on May 25.
Owned by the Purple Haze Stables of nearby Fairport, New York and trained by George Ducharme, Sharp Seven has just one victory in four starts on the campaign, that an $8,904 conditioned trot at Vernon back on May 15. Since then, Sharp Seven has a second-place finish in the NYSS at Tioga Downs on June 5 but was out of the money at Vernon in both the Empire Breeders Classic and NYSS via a break in stride during the latter. Last year, she amassed $556,115 in earnings thanks in large part to five victories in 11 outings. Sharp Seven drew the two post with Jason Bartlett picking up the catch-drive.
Others looking to ruin the get-together are: Who Dares Wins, trained and driven by Ake Svanstedt, with the inside advantage; the Rick Zeron-trained Ill Have The Red (Trevor Henry), coming off a Grade 3 Casual Breeze Stakes win, at Woodbine Mohawk Park, from post three; and the Jared Bako student Aviatrix Blue Chip (Tyler Buter), stepping up off an Excelsior Series score at Tioga, from post five.
The other bracket for the female trotters isn't as glamorous as the first division. Only two of the five entrants have a victory this season, but someone will be in line for a nice $29,000 USD win cheque in the 12th race. B Eyelash, trained by Jenny Melander, won the Weiss Consolation race at Pocono Downs on April 28 while Trinitys Diamond took an $18,000 maiden trot at Mohawk on May 4 for the Ratchford-Bax connections.
A field of four will be behind the starting gate in the first division of the NYSS for the three-year-old colt and gelding pacers and will go off as the seventh race. Svanstedt's Read The Room (Chapter Seven-Debra Hall) has a victory in the NYSS from the June 5 leg at Tioga and will look for another from post two.
The eighth race will have five male trotters putting their noses to the starting gate with Highway Six (Mets Hall-Highway Cash) looking to strike gold from the five post for trainer/driver Jeff Gregory. He's been in the money in all three of his starts this season including a second and third-place finish in two NYSS events. The major danger could be Twin B Seven Sins (Chapter Seven-Affair Hall), who finished second in the Empire Breeders Classic at Vernon on June 12. A winner of $229,159 in his career, Twin B Seven Sins will start from the three spot with Niko Karna driving for the Noel Daley stable.
(With files from Buffalo Raceway; photo of Storybook Love winning the 2025 Breeders Crown at Woodbine Mohawk Park)