With the return of live harness racing at Hoosier Park less than a month away, final preparations for the 2016 season are underway throughout the property. Opening day of the 160-day meet has been set for Friday, April 1.
Live racing at Hoosier will follow a Friday, Saturday schedule the opening week; a Thursday, Friday, Saturday schedule the second week; and will then resume a Tuesday through Saturday schedule throughout the remainder of the season. With a new, daily first-race post time of 5:45 p.m. each night, the live racing season will be conducted through November 12.
Stall applications have been flowing into Hoosier Park’s race office since January in advance of the 2016 season. This year, Hoosier Park’s director of racing / racing secretary, Scott Peine, encountered a much stronger response from horsepeople, both local and otherwise, as stall applications totalled nearly 900. As a result, the backstretch will be filled to capacity for the opening of this year’s season.
“Last year, the Indiana harness racing industry captured national attention and that success has been felt throughout the entire program,” Peine noted. “The response we've had from horsemen all across the country has been excellent and it's a reflection of the quality of racing we've had over the last few years. I think everyone is looking forward to the 2016 season that will showcase competition among some of the nation’s top horses, owners, trainers and drivers.”
The barn area and dormitories will officially open on Saturday, March 12 for those horsepeople allotted stalls to begin moving in horses and equipment. The track will open for training on Monday, March 14 from the hours of 6 a.m. to 12 p.m. The paddock and ship-in area will also be open starting March 14 for those horsepeople that wish to ship-in and train. All days of training will be subject to weather. All horses entering the grounds must have all valid paperwork available before being allowed entry to the grounds.
The first round of qualifiers is slated for Wednesday, March 16 with an estimated start time of 10 a.m. Qualifiers will continue to follow a Wednesday and Saturday schedule throughout the remainder of the season. Condition sheets and stakes schedules will be posted on Hoosier Park’s website as soon as they are made available.
Peine also announced several overnight and late closing events to be contested in early April and May. In conjunction, Hoosier Park will offer a variety of overnight series for Indiana-sired horses. All of the overnight series will be on Hoosier Park's condition sheets and more information can be found on Hoosier Park's website by clicking here.
Once again, Hoosier Park’s 23rd season of live racing will offer an action-packed stakes season. Hoosier Park’s signature event, the $300,000 Dan Patch Stakes, is slated for Friday, August 12. For more information on the 2016 stakes schedule, please click here.
(Hoosier Park)