Castellano leading rider in Penn Gaming Racing Challenge for third time
Trainer Mark Casse, jockey Javier Castellano, and owner Bryan Hawk topped their respective divisions in this year’s Penn Gaming Racing Challenge.
Points are awarded over the course of the year to the top finishers in select stakes at the Penn Gaming racetracks of Charles Town, Penn National, Mahoning Valley, Sam Houston, and Zia Park.
The winners will each receive two round-trip airfare tickets and a three-night stay at the M Resort in Las Vegas. Casse and Hawk also will have their entry and starting fees refunded in any unrestricted stakes races run at Penn Gaming Thoroughbred tracks in 2017, with the exception of Penn National.
Castellano has been the leading rider each year since the Challenge was started in 2014. He won four of the stakes this year, including the Grade 2, $1.25 million Charles Town Classic on Stanford.
Casse’s wins included the $500,000 Penn Mile with the filly Catch a Glimpse.
Hawk won two stakes on Land of Enchantment Day at Zia Park on Nov. 23.