Monticello: Final Sire Stakes of the season on Monday afternoon

Monday, August 28, will mark the end of the 2023 New York Sire Stakes (NYSS) season at Monticello Raceway. The eight-race card is highlighted with one dash of Sire Stakes for 2YO trotters worth $104,400 and three heats of the $20,000 Excelsior Stakes for combined purses of $164,000.

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The lone division of NYSS has six contestants, with Keep Asking (PP5) installed as the morning-line favorite. Keep Asking was a Sire Stakes winner in his last start at Vernon Downs in 1:54, which equaled the track record. The son of Chapter Seven is trained by George Ducharme and has Jordan Stratton in the bike. In his five starts, Keep Asking has amassed $96,613. Titan Your Grip (PP3) has finished second a total of four times this season and along the way has banked $86,025. Titan Your Grip will be driven by regular pilot Mark Macdonald. Chapland (PP4) is looking to recapture his strong start of the year where he scored at Yonkers in 1:59 3/5 in NYSS competition.

Each of the three Excelsior races has a standout as well. Tobern, the top point earner in the Excelsior class, will start from the rail in race 3. Tobern had strung together an impressive five-race win streak that was halted in his last start when he finished second to Fringed at Vernon Downs. Tobern is trained and driven by John Stark Jr. Inflation (PP7 - Stratton) leads the way in the second race. He has consecutive wins at Vernon and Saratoga, where Inflation took both of his divisions with relative ease. Lucas Wallin trains the son of Chapter Seven for owner Mal and Janet Burroughs, Shemay Stables and Lucas Wallin.

In the second heat, Voss Blue Chip (PP3 - J. Bartlett) also has recent wins at Vernon and Saratoga with earnings of $36,165. The son of EL Titan is trained by Jared Bako. Sky Box will score from post 4 with Mark Macdonald in the sulky. He is a two-time winner this year with recent wins at Saratoga and Tioga for trainer Paul Kelly.

The existing track record for this age and category is 1:58, it is held by former Dan Patch winner Fourth Dimension set in 2014. Post Time for the eight-race card is 12:10 p.m. Monday.

-edited release (Monticello Media)