$465,700 Empire Breeders Classic set for Sunday

Nichols, NY – The Empire Breeders Classic (EBC) for 3-year-old NY Sired pacing colts and fillies will be featured on a 15 race Sunday, August 28 matinee harness racing card, supported by the New York Sires Stakes (NYSS) for freshman trotting fillies.

Shakertown (American Ideal) and driver Jason Bartlett are the oddsmaker’s choice in the $122,000 first of two colt & gelding divisions (race 7).  Shakertown 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 (So Surreal) and driver Mark Macdonald, a model of consistency this season for trainer Ray Schnittker, who shares ownership of JD 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 (Huntsville) and driver 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 filly 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 NY 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 (Huntsville) and driver Mark 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 the filly 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.

For complete race entries, click here.

by Nick Salvi, for Tioga Downs