All eyes on William and Mary in rescheduled Tri-State Futurity

Charles Town will begin its 2018 season with the rescheduled Tri-State Futurity carded as the first race Wednesday evening.

The West Virginia track, which closed for a break following its Dec. 23 card, has released its schedule through the April 21 Charles Town Classic program. Racing will be conducted Wednesdays through Saturdays with a first post of 7 p.m.

Charles Town Classic Day, the track’s lone afternoon card of the year, will have a first post of 12:30 p.m.

The purse of this year’s Classic remains up in the air after the West Virginia Racing Commission in December postponed approval of the Charles Town stakes schedule. At that meeting, commissioner Ken Lowe proposed a dramatic reduction to the purse of the $1.25 million Classic. A decision is expected later this month.

Trainer Jeff Runco and jockey Christian Hiraldo, who led their respective divisions in 2017, will both be in action opening night. Runco, who won his 4,000th career race in December, will be shooting for his 13th consecutive title.

Hiraldo, 25, led the standings for the first time last year, dethroning Jose Montano, who had been the leading rider at Charles Town since 2012. Hiraldo, who is from San Juan, Puerto Rico, won 143 races at Charles Town in 2017.

The $50,000 Tri-State Futurity was supposed to have been run Dec. 23 but failed to fill. Originally for 2-year-olds, the race will match six West Virginia-bred 3-year-olds at seven furlongs.

John W. Casey bred, owns, and trains three of the entrants, including heavy favorite William and Mary, a son of the stallion Windsor Castle, whom Casey stands at his Taylor Mountain Farm.

William and Mary is 3 for 4 in his career. He won an August maiden race, the Mercer Memorial in September, and a Thanksgiving weekend allowance race.

His only loss came to Bound to Windsor in the West Virginia Futurity on Nov. 4. Bound to Windsor, who is 4 for 5, also races for Casey.

William and Mary will break from post 3 under Antonio Lopez.

Binn Goode, who may go postward as the second choice, has finished behind stablemate William and Mary three times. While William and Mary has sharp speed, Binn Goode does his best running from off the pace.

Although 1 for 8 last season, Binn Goode has finished worse than third only once. Hiraldo will be aboard from post 4.

John McKee has entered Mr. Jacoby, a son of Fiber Sonde, whom he stands at Beau Ridge Farm.

Like Binn Goode, Mr. Jacoby was beaten three times by William and Mary last year. In his final start of the season, he closed ground to finish third in an allowance race, beaten three-quarters of a length for second by Binn Goode.