Elimination winners Art Official and Badlands Nitro will highlight the $392,850 Cane Pace, first leg of pacing's Triple Crown, on Monday, September 1 at Freehold Raceway.
World Record holder Art Official is to be driven by Ron Pierce. The Joe Seekman trainee has drawn Post 7 and has been installed as the 9-5 morning line favourite.
Art Official, an Art Major colt, set a Freehold all-age record of 1:50.4 in winning his Cane elim on August 23. The Cane Pace stakes record of 1:51.1 was established in 2007 by Always A Virgin.
Art Official - Cane Pace Elim
The Cane Pace has been carded as Race 12 on Freehold's Monday card.
Sharing the Labour Day spotlight on the 13-race program will be the $156,940 Battle of Freehold for two-year-old pacers (Race 8) and a pair of divisions of the Shady Daisy for three-year-old pacing fillies. The ninth race Shady Daisy division will go for $78,400 while the 11th race split is worth $80,400.
$392,850 Cane Pace
Head # - PP - Horse - Driver - Trainer - Line
1 - 1 - Badlands Nitro - B. Sears - G. Teague Jr. - 5-2
1A - 4 - Rudy Rednose - D. Miller - G. Teague Jr. - 5-2
2 - 2 - McCedes - D. Dube - C. Ryder - 6-1
3 - 3 - Moon Beam - Y. Gingras - E. Abbatiello - 3-1
5 - 6 - Lis Deo - T. Tetrick - E. Miller - 9-2
6 - 7 - Art Official - Ron Pierce - J. Seekman - 9-5
7 - 8 - Major General - A. Miller - E. Miller - 10-1
(With files from the New Jersey SBOA)