The Empire Breeders Classic (EBC) for three-year-old New York-sired pacing colts and fillies will be featured on a 15-race Sunday (Aug. 28) matinee card, supported by the New York Sire Stakes (NYSS) for freshman trotting fillies.
Shakertown (Jason Bartlett) is the oddsmaker's choice in the $122,000 first of two colt & gelding divisions (Race 7). The son of American Ideal has found his best form lately with a pair of Excelsior wins for owners Crawford Farms and Alan Johnson and trainer Tony Alagna.
The $120,700 second colt division (race 10) is led by last year's final winner JD (Mark MacDonald), a model of consistency this season for trainer Ray Schnittker, who shares ownership of the son of So Surreal with Melissa Beckwith and breeder George Zitone. He'll have to be on his toes Sunday, facing a stacked group of top NYSS contenders.
The fillies split into a pair of sevens, each for a purse of $111,500.
Max Contract (Andy Miller) has been beating the best the Grand Circuit has to offer lately for trainer Julie Miller, having run the table at The Meadowlands with scores in the Mistletoe Shalee and Shady Daisy during the Championship Meet. The Huntsville filly, pictured above, must be considered to one to beat in the first division (Race 9) for owners the Andy Miller Stable, Steve Heimbecker and Jean Goehlen.
The current queen of the N.Y. regional program, Gothegreenlight (Bartlett) was among those vanquished by Max Contract in the Shady Daisy, but will be defending her home turf on Sunday for trainer 'Nifty' Norman and owners Patricia Stable and Kovach Stables.
Valar Dohaeris (MacDonald) has served well on the larger tracks, including her career best 1:51 effort over the Tioga oval in NYSS action just a few weeks back. She'll need a bit of wizardry from MacDonald beginning from the outermost post seven here, but he may well have her last to the lead, not a bad place to land. Ake Svanstedt trains this daughter of Huntsville for Tristan Sjoberg as Knutsson Trotting, Inc.
Many of the stars competing at Tioga on Sunday will return for the NYSS Day of Champions on Saturday, September 10. Call (607) 699-7583 for details.