Laurel's Saturday card to decide MATCH winner
Jessica Krupnick’s second-place finish in the Roamin Rachel Stakes at Parx Racing last weekend put her on the lead for the Mid-Atlantic Championships overall title, which will be decided Saturday on the De Francis Dash card at Laurel Park. The owner of the overall series champion will earn a $50,000 bonus, and the winning trainer will receive $25,000.
Jessica Krupnick already had clinched the filly and mare dirt sprint division title prior to the Roamin Rachel, and her owner, Sycamore Racing V, and trainer, Tres Abbott, will receive $20,000 and $15,000, respectively. In the Roamin Rachel, Jessica Krupnick earned a 5-point bonus for participating in four legs of the series and 7 points for finishing second. She has 34 MATCH points.
The only horse who can pass or tie Jessica Krupnick on Saturday is Laki (23 points), who is entered in the $250,000 De Francis Dash. Lewisfield (19), who also is in the De Francis, and Oak Bluffs (22), who is in the Laurel Dash, can tie Jessica Krupnick with a win.
Lewisfield will receive a 5-point bonus for running in four legs of the series. Laki and Oak Bluffs are the only horses who will have raced in all five legs of the MATCH Series. They have already received a 5-point bonus for making four starts and will receive a 2-point participation bonus for making five starts in addition to points for their finish positions.
Finish position points are awarded on a 10-7-5-3-2 basis, with horses finishing sixth or lower getting 1 point.
The retired Page McKenney has locked up the long dirt division, and Oak Bluffs has clinched the turf sprint title. Both are trained by Mary Eppler.
If Smiling Causeway starts in Saturday’s Sensible Lady Turf Sprint, which is part of the filly and mare turf sprint division, nobody can catch her.
The dirt sprint division comes down to how Laki and Lewisfield perform in the De Francis.
** This article has been updated to correct how many bonus points horses earn for making four and five starts in the series.