$650,000 in purses at Harrington on Thursday

HARRINGTON, DE – Harrington Raceway’s richest harness racing program of the season is set for Thursday (July 25) during the Delaware State Fair with more than $650,000 in total purses on the 13-race card and a special 7 p.m. post time.

The lion’s share of the purse money is allocated for the (4) 3-year-old Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund (DSBF) $110,000 final events for 3-year-old pacers and trotters. Long-time signature events like the $50,000 Governor’s Cup for pacers 3-years old and up are also among the highlights of the most prestigious program of the year for Delaware horsemen as all of the money on the program goes exclusively to Delaware owned or bred horses.

On the wagering front, there is a pick four carryover of $1,264 in the first such sequence on the card in races (2-5). There is also a late pick four (races 10-13).

The first DSBF final is the opening event on the card, as P T Stable’s Beat Cop (Dragon King, Tim Tetrick) and Mulligan and Calcutta Stable’s and Denise Davis’ Captain Pete are set for another showdown in the DSBF final for male pacers. Beat Cop has won 13-of-17 in his career for trainer Crissy Crissman-Bier and successfully swept his eliminations while upstart Captain Pete (Allan Davis) has won 7-of-11 for trainer Jason Johnson.

The next DSBF final event is the 6th race, as filly trotters will go post ward. Gary Rhodes’ Lovie’s Place (Art Stafford Jr.) will look to win her 4th straight for her trainer/driver and figures to be the race favorite. The race is ultra-competitive featuring multiple elimination winners including, Nanticoke Racing and Delbert Cain’s Platinum Proposal (Jim Morand), David Hamm and Glenn Phillips’ Marino’s Prize (Ross Wolfenden), Breakaway Racing’s Going Platinum (Corey Callahan) and James Craparotta and Berry Racing’s Daburg (Pat Berry).

The third DSBF final is the 8th race for filly pacers with morning line choice Jo Ann Looney-King’s Curtsyforpurrseco (2/1, Tim Tetrick) as the favorite from post eight after dominating her eliminations. The outside post for the chalk may make things interesting as inside contenders who won eliminations include Dylan Davis and Kevin Switzer’s Smalltown Bad Girl (3/1, David Miller) and Eric Davis’ Makemymommaproud (12/1, Eric Davis). Shawn Hanley’s Grace O’Malley (5/1, Corey Callahan) joined Curtsyforpurrseco in sweeping her eliminations.

The male trotting final is one race later as a powerful Les Givens-trained duo will start from the inside, as Nanticoke Racing will send out Lg’s Jaxon (8/5, Jim Morand) and LG’s Bluestone (7/2, Stafford Jr.), both scored elimination sweeps.

The Governor’s Cup headlines the non-DSBF events as the 3rd race, as Tlb Racing’s Captaincountrystar (9/5, Pat Berry) leads the field from post five on a six-race win streak for trainer Traci Berry. Other popular events on the undercard include the $35,000 Legislator’s Cup (pacing mares), $35,000 Charles Murphy Memorial Jr. Trot and $25,000 President’s Cup (aged pacers).

A complimentary race program for Thursday’s card is available at harringtonraceway.com, courtesy of the Delaware Standardbred Owners Association.

Following the fair day program, the live racing meet at Harrington will resume on August 12.

by Matt Sparacino, for Harrington Raceway