Hoosier Park Racing & Casino is proud to announce a renewed partnership with HRTV, The Network for Horse Sports, to provide exclusive coverage for the $250,000 Dan Patch Invitational at Hoosier Park Racing & Casino on Friday, August 8.
Now in its 21st edition, the Dan Patch Invitational Pace sets the stage for the top rated pacers in North America to convene on Hoosier Park’s seven-eighths mile oval seeking a lucrative $250,000 purse and a spot in Hoosier Park’s history.
HRTV will be on property throughout the weekend to provide racing fans with exclusive coverage of all the festivities happening on and off the racetrack. Racing fans can also catch exclusive interviews on the HRTV programming from drivers and trainers racing at Hoosier Park.
HRTV’s national on-air host, Peter Lurie, will return to Hoosier Park for the fifth consecutive year to cover another Hoosier Park signature event. For the last four years Lurie has not only covered the Dan Patch Invitational at Hoosier Park but also the Indiana Derby at Indiana Downs. Lurie will provide commentary and handicapping throughout the Friday program alongside Hoosier Park’s Racing Commentator, Emily Gaskin.
Hoosier Park’s signature harness racing event has become a tradition that is close to the hearts of Hoosiers. The Dan Patch, an invitational race, not only highlights some of the best athletes in the sport of harness racing, but is deeply rooted throughout Indiana soil.
Hoosier Park’s headline event is part of a special weekend tagged “Dan Patch Festival Weekend.” The entire weekend will be filled with extreme racing, extreme entertainment, extreme wagers, giveaways and fun throughout the Hoosier Park property.
The ‘extreme’ theme will take center stage on the track as 10 of North America’s fastest Standardbreds go to post for the Dan Patch Invitational, slated as the 12th race on the program with an estimated post time of 9:30 p.m.
In what may be the most competitive field ever assembled, the 21st installment of Hoosier Park’s featured event will highlight the 14-race program that will boast lofty purses. The 2014 installment has no shortage of talent as racing fans can expect to see not only the sport’s top rated older pacers but the best drivers in the sport of harness racing.
The weekend will also be complimented by The East Meets Midwest Drivers’ Challenge, which will pit the top-five drivers at Hoosier Park Racing & Casino, against five of the top drivers from the East in a three-race challenge with the winning team going home with their share of the $20,000 prize. The top five drivers from Hoosier Park will make-up “Team Midwest” with the top five drivers from the East making up “Team East.”
Racing fans will have the opportunity to participate in two special wagers offered exclusively for the Dan Patch Festival weekend. A $25,000 Guaranteed Dan Patch Superfecta pool will be available as part of a special Strategic Wagering Program introduced through the United States Trotting Association. The wager will have a minimum bet of 10 cents, and is available through the cooperative efforts of the United States Trotting Association, Hoosier Park Racing & Casino and the Indiana Standardbred Association.
A $10,000 Guaranteed Pick-3 pool will also be available to racing fans for the three races of the East Meets Midwest Drivers’ Challenge. The Pick-3, which offers a 50-cent minimum wager, will begin in the seventh race and will continue through the ninth race. Post time for the first race on the 14 race card is 5:15 p.m.
(Hoosier Park)