Harrington: DSBF finals highlight richest card of the year

Harrington Raceway's richest program of the season will commence Thursday July 29 (post time 7 p.m.) with the annual Governor's Day program during the Delaware State Fair.

There will be four $100,000 Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund (DSBF) final events for 3-year-olds and a trio of $15,000 consolations on the 12-race program, in addition to long-time staples for older horses like the $50,000 Governor's Cup, $35,000 Legislator's Cup and Charles Murphy Memorial Trot.

On the wagering front, there will be a pick four (races 2-5) and pick five (races 8-12) on the program.

The first DSBF final event is the 1st race on the card, as Littlebagoftricks (7/5, Russell Foster) will look to continue her dominance of the pacing fillies as the presumptive heavy favorite for trainer and co-owner Josh Green. Co-owned by Rich Lombardo and Charles Cochran, the Roddy's Bags Again filly is unbeaten in five starts this year and dominated her two elimination legs. She will start from post four. Meanwhile, her main competition appears to be Jo Ann Looney-King's Stealing Bases (5/2, Tim Tetrick), who also won both of her elimination events and drew post two for trainer Jim King Jr. The Roddy's Bags Again-sired filly made $101,942 in her 2-year-old season.

The Governor's Cup, a popular annual event bringing the top Delaware-owned older horses, features 2019 champ Sicily (7/2, Victor Kirby). The venerable 9-year-old owned by Legacy Racing of Delaware and Reginald Hazzard is closing in on $800,000 in career earnings for trainer Wayne Givens. He, along with Robbins Nest Farm's Gallic Beach (20/1, Corey Callahan), are the only 9-year-olds in the field and the only horses older than 7 in the group.

All entries in the Governor's Cup have wins over the track this season except for Jason Lynch's Gunslinger Hill (7/1, Lynch), who was runner-up four times. Lynch is the owner/trainer of two horses in the field, the other being McBoogity (20/1, Tetrick), who finished in the money in three straight starts before the summer break. Mst Racing's Goldberg (5/2, Allan Davis) is the early favorite and already has multiple wins over the surface this year. Delaware Governor John Carney is expected to once again be on-hand to present the trophy to the winning connections.

The DSBF filly trotting final is slated as the 6th race on the card. It is named in memory of Jack Walls, who served as President of Harrington Raceway, was a lifelong supporter of harness racing and popular member of the local community. Four elimination winners are in the field including Gary White's Whitesville Beulah (5/2, David Hill III), Thestable Jazzy Judy's Jazzy Judy (2/1, Anthony Macdonald), Pam Wagner and Scott Woogen's K J Diamond (15-1, Victor Kirby), and Allan Schmucker and Logan Powell's Annalee (20/1 Tetrick).

The male pacing final, which honors the memory of driver/trainer Ben Stafford Jr., is the start of the pick five in race eight. Stafford Jr. was a talented horsemen who campaigned many DSBF contenders over the years including Badlands Jenna and Badlands and Art.

A competitive group will go postward in the male pacing division that includes double elimination winners Kdk Standardbreds' Archie and Emerson (7/2, Jason Thompson) and Clyde Francis and Mst Racing's Henrico (3/1, Victor Kirby). Henrico is one of two Clyde Francis-trainees in the field, the other being Mst Racing and George Teague Jr.'s Subban (9/5, Allan Davis), who won the 2-year-old final at Harrington last fall.

The male trotting final is the 9th race, named in memory of driver/trainer Hal Belote, who was tragically killed in a racing accident in 2006. Belote was an underrated horsemen who competed on the Mid-Atlantic circuit for decades and campaigned top horses such as Smashing Jane GT. The overwhelming favorite figures to be Bobby Myers' Big Al M (8/5, Davis) for driver/trainer Eric Davis. The Anders Bluestone gelding is undefeated in three starts this year and has dominated the DSBF ranks thus far in his career.

-edited release (Matt Sparacino for Harrington)