A 12-race card, including
three stakes events, is on tap for this Saturday as Monmouth Park once again
celebrates the New Jersey Thoroughbred Festival. Restricted to runners bred in the Garden
State, the Festival card has drawn 122 runners who will be competing for more
than a half million dollars in purses.
The stakes action for this
year’s ninth renewal of the New Jersey Thoroughbred Festival gets underway in
race three with the $60,000 New Jersey Breeders’ Handicap at six furlongs. The contest has drawn the speedy Dabnabit,
who upset his rivals in last year’s edition of the NJ Breeders’ ‘Cap. The 6-year-old Dabnabit has drawn post two
with jockey Victor Santiago set to ride.
The $60,000 Jersey Girl
Handicap will go as race 10 on the card with last year’s winner, Emily Allstar,
back to defend her title. The Paul
Kopaj-trainee gets the meet’s leading jockey Elvis Trujillo in the irons for
the mile and a sixteenth test.
The day’s feature, the
$100,000 Charles Hesse III Handicap, is set as race seven, and like the other
two stakes, has drawn the returning champ.
Goombada Guska, who goes out for trainer Steve Asmussen, will break from
the three hole with Mike Luzzi aboard for their mile and a sixteenth journey.
In addition to a full-card
featuring the best runners bred in the Garden State, fans at Monmouth Park on
Saturday will walk away with a little something extra.
All paid admissions will
receive a free New Jersey Thoroughbred Festival backpack. Featuring the official festival logo, the
backpack is navy blue in color with two pockets for storage.
Gates will open this Saturday
at 11:30 a.m., with first post set for 12:50 p.m.