Hoosier Park will close out its 2011 standardbred meet Saturday, July 16 with athletic stars of all kinds. Tagged as ‘Hoosier Champions,’ the evening will include purse money in excess of $1.2 million and offer numerous giveaways and appearances, including a meet and greet session with Matt Howard from Butler University’s record-making NCAA basketball team.
Howard, a native of Connersville, Indiana, is a three-time Academic All-American. He will be available for autographs from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. near the winner’s circle in The Yard.
Also making a special appearance during the night will be five local celebrities as they race for charity in the Local Hero Champions Exhibition race. The local heroes will climb aboard a double-seated jog cart and compete against each other in a seven-eighths mile dash. Guests can enter a special contest for $2 per entry. Participants can place a donation bet on their favourite local celebrity driver in the charity horse race by donating a $2 entry fee into their designated donation boxes.
At the conclusion of the exhibition race, three winners will be drawn from each donation box that corresponds with the three winning drivers. The nine winners will share a $5,000 prize pool, receiving $1,000, $500 and $175 respectively based on the finishing placement of their horse. There is no limit to entries into the contest and all proceeds will benefit the United Way of Madison County.
Included on the list of participants is David Maxwell of St John's Health Systems, Kirk Klabunde from First Merchants Bank, Jim Brown of Hoosier Park Racing & Casino, Kim Contos, United Way board member, and Jeff Freeman from the Anderson Fire Department. The Local Hero Champions Exhibition will be held following the sixth race on the program with an estimated post time of 7:15 p.m.
The evening will also be tied into the national harness racing promotion ‘Back to the Track.’ A special drawing will be conducted for a trip for two to the Little Brown Jug in Delaware, Ohio in mid-September. The trip includes roundtrip airfare, two night’s hotel accommodations, transfers to and from the Delaware County Fairgrounds, and passes to the VIP Jug tent. The drawing will be held following the 13th race on the program.
In addition to the trip giveaway, the Indiana Standardbred Association will offer free wagering vouchers to the first 500 fans. Drawings for gas cards will also be held beginning after race three for values of $20 to $500.
(Hoosier Park)