Harness: NJ Sire Stakes Board of Trustees announces new races for NJ Sired horses

The NJ Sire Stakes Board is excited to announce that it has approved a new additional series for New Jersey Sired horses for 2026 and hopefully continuing thereafter. New Jersey sired horses will be eligible to race in both the Platinum (formerly Premier) or the new Silver Series. This new series gives New Jersey sired two- and three-year-olds additional opportunities to race.

The Silver series will be for both 2- and 3-year-old trotters and pacers identical to the current Premier (now Platinum) series but are designed for horses that perhaps do not have the ability to compete in the Platinum series.

To be eligible to these races, horse owners must have made the yearling nomination for the Platinum series. To remain eligible, the sustaining payments must be made for the Platinum series in the year the horse will race. There will be no change in the sustaining payments for the Platinum series. In other words, if the NJ Sired horse is eligible for the Platinum, it will automatically be eligible for the new Silver series without any additional sustaining payment for the Silver series.

The Silver series will be raced at the Meadowlands and will be held at about the same time as the Platinum series. As in the past, the top ten-point earners in each new series will go to the Final. Points earned in the Platinum series will only be counted toward the Final of the Platinum series. Points earned in each series are not interchangeable.

Preliminary legs for the Silver series are expected to race for $10,000 each while the Finals are expected to race for $40,000 each.

No change in the purses for the Platinum series is expected. In the Platinum, legs are expected to race for $25,000 each while the Finals are projected to race for $225,000 each.

Unless otherwise specified, all events are to be raced under the rules of the New Jersey Racing Commission and the United States Trotting Association.

Funding for this new initiative is being provided by NMRLLC facilitated through Jeff Gural, who has worked closely with us to make this vision a reality. The outstanding cooperation, dedication and commitment by the Meadowlands and the SBOANJ in working with us is greatly appreciated. This collaborative spirit and relentless effort will help us advance our goals and set a new standard of excellence in the industry.

Thank you for your unwavering support and for being an integral part of our journey. The New Jersey Sire Stakes Board of Trustees look forward to many more successful ventures together.

“This new Platinum/Silver Series will create more opportunities for NJ Sired horses to race in the Garden State at the Mecca of Harness racing in the world, the Meadowlands. In turn, these additional opportunities will help foster growth in the New Jersey economy and will increase interest in NJ Sired horses” said Nancy Grbelja, Chairman of the NJ Sire Stakes Board of Trustees.

-release (NJ Dep't of Agriculture)