New York Sire Stakes to finalize Schedule

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The New York Sire Stakes is monitoring the reopening plans of the state's harness racing racetracks and is tentatively planning to begin Sire Stakes and Excelsior Series events the week of June 21 at Tioga and Vernon Downs. We hope to finalize first race dates in the coming days. The program is currently working with pari-mutual tracks to finalize a new schedule which will be provided to participants as soon as possible.

"We know what a hardship this uncertainty is and that horsemen are eager for dates. We are hammering out several details now and will provide a revised schedule as quickly as we can. We thank all of our participants for their continued patience," said Kelly Young, executive director of the Agriculture & New York State Horse Breeding Development Fund. "In the meantime, we are excited to see qualifiers this week at Tioga Downs, Vernon Downs and Historic Track in Goshen, and plans developing for qualifying at other locations. Thank you to the tracks and officials who have made this possible and worked hard to bring these to fruition. The challenge of qualifying horses is being addressed and we feel comfortable that we are getting over this hurdle to the start of the stakes season."

As previously released, 3-year-old racing will begin first, followed by 2-year-olds in July. No racing dates have yet been finalized. The revised calendar will feature an equal number of legs for all ages and divisions.

Please call or email Kelly Young with any questions. She can be reached at kelly.young@gaming.ny.gov or at 518-388-0224.

About the Agriculture & NYS Horse Breeding Development Fund: 

The Agriculture & NYS Horse Breeding Development Fund is a public benefit corporation established in 1965 by the Laverne Law (Laws of New York, Chapter 567 of the Laws of 1965). The mission of the fund is to promote agriculture through the breeding of Standardbred horses and the conduct of equine research within the state. To carry out its legislative mission, the Fund administers the New York Sire Stakes races, Excelsior/State Fair Series races, and County Fair Races.