Suffolk Downs will host the second of three scheduled live racing and food truck festival weekends this Saturday and Sunday, August 5-6. The $75,000 Drumtop Stakes will highlight the supersized fifteen-race card on Saturday.
Longtime Suffolk Downs-based trainers Jay Bernardini, William Sienkewicz and Bobby Raymond as well as prominent national outfits including Christophe Clement, Ken McPeek and Steve Klesaris entered for the weekend’s races.
The $75,000 Drumtop Stakes is a one-mile turf race restricted to three-year-old fillies. The black-type race has drawn a field of seven including multiple stakes winner Dynatail for trainer Michael Dini. The Drumtop Stakes is race thirteen.
In addition to the Drumtop Stakes, Saturday’s card will include seven turf races.
“We appreciate the support of the Massachusetts Legislature and its leadership for the recent extension of the racing and simulcast laws in the Commonwealth,” said Chip Tuttle, the Chief Operating Officer at Suffolk Downs. “Tom Creel and our racing department did a spectacular job filling the races and putting together such a competitive weekend of racing and we are looking forward to putting on a good show for the local racing fans.”
On Sunday, there will be three stakes races restricted to horses foaled in Massachusetts – the Louise Kimball Stakes, the Last Dance Stakes and the First Episode Stakes. Each offers a purse of $50,000 and is a showcase for the Massachusetts Thoroughbred breeding industry. The Last Dance Stakes will feature a matchup between Dr. Blarney, undefeated in five local stakes races, and numerous state-bred stakes winner Worth the Worry who won the 2015 edition of the Last Dance Stakes.
The Louise Kimball Stakes will be run as an exhibition race as an addition to the program at 11:30 a.m.
There will be many familiar faces taking part in the opening card including popular local jockeys David Amiss, the leading rider at Suffolk Downs in 2014, and Tammi Piermarini, the third most winning female jockey in history.
The first live racing and food truck festival weekend of the year was held in July and drew an average of over 9,000 fans to the track each day.
Post time for the 15 race card is at 12:35 p.m. and gates open at 11:00 a.m. In addition to live racing, the track will be hosting a food truck festival featuring food trucks from a variety of local vendors, craft beer, live music and family fun activities for the whole family.
Live racing will continue on Sunday with fourteen races.
Also on Sunday, Suffolk Downs will be hosting a National Horseplayers Championship qualifying handicapping tournament which will offer two guaranteed seats to the National Horseplayers Championship in Las Vegas in February.
For more information, visit www.suffolkdowns.com