The Red Mile has three days of stakes racing

Lexington, KY — Despite Hambletonian victor Karl and Sippinonsearoc, the fleetest freshman in the sport, being absent from harness racing action this week at The Red Mile, an abundance of outstanding stakes action remains on Sunday (Aug.18), Monday (Aug. 19) and Tuesday (Aug. 20). The three cards feature 51 events worth $810,00 in stakes money.

The return of Dan Patch Award winner and Kentucky champion Geocentric (Sweet Lou-Geometry) to the Bluegrass kicks off the week and the Kentucky Sire Stakes Championship Series on Sunday. With regular pilot Tim Tetrick at the helm, the filly seeks her second victory of the season from six attempts in the $80,000 third leg of the Kentucky Sire Stakes Championship Series (KYSS) for sophomore filly pacers.

Trained by Brian Brown, Geocentric established her lifetime mark of 1:49.3 in a $84,500 division of the International Stallion Stake last October. She faltered in the Breeders Crown final, suffering the first defeat in her 10-race freshman campaign, after capturing her elimination.

The filly failed to hit the board in the $350,250 Fan Hanover final at Woodbine Mohawk Park and the $104,225 Adioo Volo at The Meadows this season and has only added $58,146 to the $556,251 bankroll she amassed in 2023.

Owned by Milton Leeman, Alan Keith, James Stambaugh and Joe Sbrocco, Geocentric may just need a return to a surface she clearly adores.

The filly will leave from post position five in the field of five and is 8-5 on the morning line.

Geocentric was a $55,000 yearling purchase at the 2022 Standardbred Horse Sale. She was bred by Diamond Creek Farm and her granddam is world champion and dual Dan Patch Award winner See You At Peelers.

Rising star Super Chapter (Chapter Seven-Lifetime Pursuit) seeks his fourth consecutive victory on Sunday in the $80,000 third round KYSS leg for 2-year-old male trotters. The colt will commence his mile from post position eight against nine rivals with Dexter Dunn holding the reins for conditioner Marcus Melander.

The colt is 8-5 on the morning line and enters this event after setting a new lifetime mark of 1:53 in the second round of this series.

Super Chapter is the fifth foal and first winner out of world champion Lifetime Pursuit (Cantab Hall, $1.06 million).

He went through the ring at last year’s Standardbred Horse Sale for $300,000 to Jeffrey Snyder and Arthur Pronti.

Super Chapter was bred by Hanover Shoe Farms.

Monday features an $80,000 KYSS third round leg for freshman filly pacers where Sweet Ballad (Yannick Gingras) and Champagne Room (Andrew McCarthy) will square off.

Sweet Ballad is 9-2 on the morning line and will begin pacing from post position seven in the field of eight for trainer Ron Burke. The daughter of Sweet Lou-Write Me A Song sports a resume of 4-1-1-0 but was second to a talented filly and her stablemate in looking at Looksgoodinloulou in the first round of this series. She was fifth behind that same filly in the second round but receives the services of Gingras for this engagement after previously being steered by T. Tetrick and David Miller respectively.

Sweet Ballad competes as a homebred for her trainer, Weaver Bruscemi and Phillip Collura.

Champagne Room has also been following Looksgoodinloulou home in Lexington. From two career starts the daughter of Papi Rob Hanover-See You At Peelers has two creditable third place finishes.

Will Monday be when she breaks her maiden?

The filly leaves from post position four for trainer Noel Daley.

Champagne Room was bred by Diamond Creek Farm and sold for $310,000 at last year’s Lexington Selected Yearling Sale to Patricia Stable, L A Express & Sjoblom Inc. and Michael Dolan. She is 7-2 on the morning line.

Tuesday will provide rematches in the KYSS events for 3-year-old male pacers and sophomore filly trotters.

The sophomore pacers will be the first to tussle with Kentucky champion and first leg winner Better Is Nice (Bettor’s Wish-Thatsoveryverynice) competing against second leg winner Nuclear (Always B Miki-Can’tgetenuffofyou).

Better Is Nice (A. McCarthy) draws the rail in the field of six and has the advantage in seasonal earnings and record ($167,663 and 10-2-3-2) but Nuclear (Dunn) has a swifter lifetime mark (1:48.4).

Trained by Joe Holloway, Nuclear outlasted Better Is Nice by a nose in their last meeting. The gelding seeks his third win from seven starts in 2024.

The gelding will leave from post position four.

Nuclear is owned by Val D’Or Farms and was bred by Roll The Dice Stable. He is the first foal out of his dam and was a $37,000 2022 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale Purchase.

Returning to Better Is Nice, the colt is a formidable foe. He has compiled a record of 21-9-4-4 in his career and earned $677,783.

He is a half-sibling to Danger Zone (Captaintreacherous, $152,740) and is owned by his trainer, Pryde Stables and Birnam Wood Farms.

Better Is Nice was bred by Alagna Racing and Marvin Katz. He is also a New Jersey champion.

Tuesday’s second KYSS third round leg for 3-year-old pacing fillies will see second leg victress and Kentucky champion Date Night Hanover (Chapter Seven-Don’t Wait Up) face off with third place Hambletonian Oaks finisher Allegiant (Tactical Landing-Too Good For You).

Allegiant will have Scott Zeron for trainer Vernon Beachy and Ryan Smith when she leaves from post position three in the field of five. The filly sports a record career record of 9-3-2-1 and has earned $504,697. Her lifetime standard of 1:51.4 was achieved with a Hambletonian Oaks elimination triumph.

Her dam has foaled nine winners of more than $100,000 from 16 foals, including Allegiant.

She was bred by Atlantic Trot Inc. and Steve Stewart.

Date Night Hanover starts from post position five for the potent combination of Dunn and Melander. The filly set her lifetime mark of 1:51.2 last week when she left Allegiant in her wake.

The filly broke strode in the Hambletonian Oaks final and was third in her elimination, but she captured the $128,000 Zweig Memorial Trot for her age and sex earlier this season.

Date Night Hanover’s resume stands at 21-6-0-5 and she has collected $471,109 in purse money.

Owned by Jeffrey Snyder and ONDA Racing Stable, the filly was bred by Hanover Shoe Farm. She was a $600,000 yearling purchase at the 2022 Standardbred Horse Sale. Her great granddam is Emilie Cas El, who is the dam of 2014 Hambletonian winner Trixton and was the 1994 Canadian Horse of the Year as a 2-year-old.

First post at The Red Mile on Sunday is 5:05 p.m. Post time for Monday and Tuesday is 1 p.m.

To receive free program pages to handicap the track with the lowest takeout in the sport visit redmileky.com.

by Kimberly French, for The Red Mile