Freehold Raceway will awaken to the sound of thunder from the hoofbeats of some of the best standardbred trotters and pacers in the country when live racing returns on Aug. 28.
The 48-day summer/fall meet will begin with a big opening weekend of harness racing and festivities.
Opening weekend includes stakes races, an opening-day T-shirt giveaway, and on Labor Day, discounted food items, an autograph session and a cap giveaway.
The free T-shirts will be distributed with a paid Freehold live-racing program (while supplies last) on Aug. 28. The opening day feature is the first round of New Jersey Sire Stakes Green Acres for 2-yearold trotting colts.
Aug. 29 spotlights eliminations, if needed, for the Helen Smith Trot for 3- year-old fillies, which has a $55,000 estimated final on Sept. 5.
The spotlight is on 3-year-old pacing colts in Green Acres action on Aug. 30.
On Labor Day, 2-year-old pacers — both colts and fillies — face off in the opening rounds of the Green Acres. Labor Day is also Back to the Track, a cooperative effort by the United States Trotting Association, its member racetracks and horsemen from coast-to-coast, that combines exciting harness racing and fanfriendly promotions.
Freehold’s Labor Day festivities include a free Back to the Track cap with paid Freehold live program (while supplies last), 50-cent hot dogs, 50-cent sodas, drawings for a season parking pass and Back to the Track T-shirts. In addition, an autograph session with drivers will be held.
When Freehold Raceway reopens on Aug. 28, there will be a return to condition racing and the introduction of automated morning lines.
“In a mutual agreement with the [Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association of New Jersey (SBOANJ)], we are returning to conditioned races when we reopen August 28,” said Freehold General Manager Howard Bruno. “We had some success with the ABC classified system; however, the seasonal fluctuations in horse supply made it difficult to maximize its potential.”
The summer/fall meet runs from Aug. 28-Dec. 13, with racing on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, as well as the special Labor Day Monday card. Post time is at 12:30 p.m.
Overnight purses will average $40,000 daily, according to Bruno.
Automated morning lines, generated by TrackMaster, will debut this meet.
“Several other tracks have begun using the system, and the feedback has been positive,” Director of Racing and Racing Secretary Karen Fagliarone said. “We feel the automation will lead to increased accuracy and be more timely than our current system.”
On Sept. 20, Freehold Raceway will present the Third Annual Open Space Pace, which starts with a morning parade of horses on Main Street in Freehold Borough and ends at Freehold Raceway, where additional events will be staged, including celebrity amateur races, demonstrations, educational exhibits, great food, live harness racing, family fun activities, a petting zoo, a concert and fireworks.
Along with the Green Acres stakes for New Jersey-sired 2- and 3-year-olds, Freehold’s other major stakes races include the SBOANJ-sponsored Marion Dancer Trot (Sept. 4), Helen Smith Trot (Sept. 5), Charles Smith Trot (Sept. 12), Harold Dancer Trot (Sept. 25), the Lou Babic Paces (Sept. 27) and New Jersey Futurities (Sept. 6 and Oct. 10, 16 and 25).
Qualifiers are on Thursdays at 9:30 a.m., with declarations due the prior day at 10 a.m. Freehold Raceway’s roots go back to 1853, when fair races were first held at the track, making it the country’s oldest continually operating harness racetrack. It has also become one of the fastest half-mile tracks in the nation.
As always, Freehold is open every day of the week for simulcasting of races from throughout the country.
For more information, go to www.freeholdraceway.com.