The New York Sire Stakes, the state's premier harness racing program, has released the complete and revised schedule for the 2020 racing season. Two-year-olds will begin with filly pacers on July 4 at Vernon Downs.
As previously announced, 3-year-old events get underway June 21 at Tioga Downs. A full schedule, including dates for Batavia Downs, can be found at nysirestakes.com.
All dates are pending New York State Gaming Commission approval at the individual raceways and are subject to alterations as racing, operating and regulatory conditions change. The NYSS will notify horseman as soon as possible if any changes occur.
"It’s an exciting step to release the revised schedule for our 2020 season,” said Kelly Young, executive director of the Agriculture & New York State Horse Breeding Development Fund. “We appreciate the patience of all our participants as we worked through many uncertainties and continue to address challenges as they emerge.
"We understand there are still many things that could change over the next few months, but this schedule reflects the best information we have at this time. We will continue to work with the state’s racetracks to stay as close to this schedule as possible if changes are necessary or if a track cannot accommodate an event.”
The NYSS would like to thank the management and staff at each track for their cooperation and assistance in developing this schedule. The NYSS is a partnership between the state, the horsemen and the raceways and we were inspired to see the collaborative spirit among all involved to help solidify the 2020 calendar.
Changes for the upcoming season have been approved by the Trustees of the Fund to address the shortfall in revenue due to the extended track closures. The NYSS and Excelsior Series will host five legs for each of the age, gait and sex divisions. Purses for each leg will be maintained at a level very similar to last year.
Excelsior purses remain the same for both the A and B levels ($15,000 and $6,000 plus starting fees, respectively) with no Excelsior events raced at Goshen Historic Track this year.
NYSS Finals on the Night of Champions, Excelsior Finals and County Fair Finals purses will remain at their previously announced levels of $225,000, $50,000 and $10,000, respectively, per division. There will be no Sire Stakes Consolation events this year.
An update on the County Fair schedule is slated to be announced in the coming week. The first racing date is slated for July 9 and the Finals are still planned for the Labor Day weekend.
The publication of the County Fair Racing Schedule booklet has been delayed as dates and procedures are confirmed with participating fairs, but will be available in print and digital form as soon as details are finalized.
