The draw for the $250,000 Spirit of Massachusetts Trot and the $100,000 Clara Barton Distaff Pace will be held on Tuesday (July 19) with the box closing at 12 noon. These two Grand Circuit races will be joined on the card by the $50,000 Bert Beckwith Memorial final, the $20,000 John Hogan Memorial, $17,500 Standardbred Transition Alliance Pace, $15,000 Baystate Pace and the New England Amateur Drivers Club Pace, making up the best program of harness racing offered all year in New England.
There are 21 trotters eligible to the Spirit and 16 mares to the Barton and each are looking to fill one of eight slots in each race. However, every year Plainridge Park, the Harness Horseman’s Association of New England and the Hambletonian Society can jointly name a ninth starter known as the “at-large exemption,” where a horse that has been racing at Plainridge on a regular basis will be given an automatic berth.
This year, it was announced that Remember Titans was afforded that exemption in the Spirit of Massachusetts Trot along with La Bella Vita N, who although eligible to the Barton, is now guaranteed a starting spot should that race draw a full field. Starters are based on their earnings, in the event that more than eight enter either stakes.
Remember Titans is owned by Kellogg Racing and his trainer Jackie Greene, who both compete regularly at Plainridge Park. He is in the midst of a career year as he already has 10 wins in 2022, four of which came at Plainridge in Open company. In fact, he is only a neck shy of being unbeaten there as that was the margin of his lone second place finish. His lifetime mark of 1:53.4 came at Plainridge on May 31 and he did it by three lengths with his regular driver, Jay Randall.
La Bella Vita N is owned by Michael Goldberg of Scituate, Massachusetts, who races many horses at The Ridge, along with his partner Bowie Racing. They landed this New Zealand-bred in August of 2021 and she raced well in the New York area and competed in the Blue Chip Matchmaker this spring. But since bringing her to Massachusetts, she too is only half a length shy of being unbeaten, winning three out of four starts with one second. She took her lifetime mark of 1:51.4 at Plainridge on June 21 in a gate-to-wire, 2-1/2 length romp for driver Shawn Gray and trainer Alicia Gray.
Post time for the Spirit of Massachusetts card on Sunday, July 24 is 2 p.m. but the gate opens at 1 p.m. for all the festivities.
(Plainridge Park)