Lincoln: Last call at old Lincoln Race Course

The closing day of the 2012 race meet at Lincoln Race Course brings down the curtain on 50-plus years of live racing in Nebraska’s capital city with the final program to be offered at this venue set to start at 2 p.m. Central on Sunday.

The closing day feature is the $25,000 Capital City Futurity that brings together a field of 2-year-olds just starting out in their racing careers.
Following the close of the meet, simulcast racing will continue to be offered in the clubhouse through next summer as the Nebraska Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association works to construct a new facility in the southwest portion of Lincoln. The track and barn area will be razed during the summer as the University of Nebraska-Lincoln continues with development of this property as an innovation and technology campus. The Nebraska HBPA has a long-term goal of building a one-mile oval at the new facility but will need a revenue stream to begin the project.

The final stakes race here drew a field of six 2-year-olds going six furlongs and includes a trio of supplemental nominees in Youbetshewon, Vervata, and Tax Scratch Fever.

Youbetshewon, trained by Tim Gleason, is the likely favorite here after winning her first two career starts at Turf Paradise and then finishing second in the ATBA Sales Stakes at the Arizona track on May 6. She has been rested since then while training at Prairie Meadows and comes in off a solid five-furlong work from the gate in 1:00 on July 1. Jason Eads has the ride.

Vervata won her maiden at first asking June 1 at Prairie Meadows for trainer Jon Arnett going 4 1/2 furlongs. Go Gold, trained by Ron Westermann, is the other winner in the field after rallying to win the Lincoln Futurity here on June 24 by three-quarters of a length.

Tax Scratch Fever, a maiden trained by Bob Rising, showed a good burst of early speed to set the pace into the stretch of the Lincoln Futurity but came up short late while finishing in a dead heat for third.