Eppler's stable takes aim at MATCH bonuses

The Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championships is nearing its midpoint, and Pimlico-based trainer Mary Eppler is off to a quick start with Page McKenney and Oak Bluffs.

“I’m a big fan of the MATCH series,” Eppler said. “I like the concept. The bonus money is good. And my horses fit these races. I like everything about it.”

Horsemen who have competed in one or more of the early races, or who are considering jumping into the pool, will soon have to decide if they want to shoot for the $450,000 in owner and trainer bonuses that will be divvied up in September. To be eligible for an award, a horse must compete in three of the five races in a division.

Page McKenney won the first leg of the long-dirt division, the Grade 3 Salvator Mile at Monmouth, and earned 10 points, three more than Salvator runner-up Shaft of Light and five more than third-place finisher Sunny Ridge.

The Grade 3 Iselin at Monmouth Park on Saturday will be the division’s second race. While Page McKenney will try to extend his lead, Shaft of Light is being prepared for shorter races and will not participate.

The following Saturday, July 7, the third legs of three other divisions will be held.

Parx has the $200,000 Parx Dash and the $100,000 Turf Amazon, five-furlong grass races for 3-year-olds and up and for females, respectively. The $75,000 Dashing Beauty, part of the filly-and-mare sprint-dirt division, will be held at Delaware Park.

Oak Bluffs, an 8-year-old whom Eppler claimed for $5,000 in November 2015, has competed in the first two legs of the sprint-turf division and tops the standings. He has 15 points after finishing third over soft turf in the $100,000 Jim McKay Turf Sprint at Pimlico and winning the $200,000 Pennsylvania Governor’s Cup at Penn National two weeks later.

At the end of the series, the owners of the top three finishers in each division will receive bonuses of $20,000, $15,000, and $10,000. The trainers’ awards are $15,000, $10,000, and $5,000. In addition, there is an award for the horse who earns the most points in the entire series. Oak Bluffs leads that category. The male dirt sprinter Lewisfield, trained by Jeff Runco, is second with 12 points. A number of horses are tied for third with 10 points.

If Page McKenney wins Saturday, he would move into first place.

The owner of the overall champion will receive $50,000, and the trainer gets $25,000. Oak Bluffs is owned by the Mary Eppler Racing Stable. Page McKenney is owned by Adam Staple and Jalin Stable.

The MATCH series is a summer-long competition consisting of five divisions (sprinting on dirt, going long on turf, etc.). Horses accrue points based on finish position on a scale of 10-7-5-3-2. Those who finish sixth or worse earn one point.

Horses who compete in four legs in a division earn a seven-point bonus. Horses who race in all five legs get an extra 10 points.

◗ Following a comfortable win in the $100,000 Penn Ladies Dash, Morticia would have been a key player in the filly-and-mare sprint-turf division. But on Tuesday, trainer Rusty Arnold said he has decided to point her to the $200,000 Caress Stakes at Saratoga on July 23.

Her defection pretty much rules her out of the series and puts the Eddie Kenneally-trained Girls Know Best, winner of The Very One at Pimlico, in control.