Dover Downs embarks on its 44th campaign on Sunday, Nov. 4 and continues until April 11, 2013.
Following in the footsteps of the action-packed 2011-12 meet which featured many of the sport’s top horses, drivers and trainers, again this meet, the track will present live racing 15 times daily over a period of six months.
The Progress Pace, the track’s signature event, features over consecutive weeks, many of the season’s top three-year-olds in the sport meeting in $35,000 elimination divisions and an anticipated $350,000 final.
In addition to the lucrative Progress Pace two-week long event, the early season is highlighted by eight Matron Stakes as well as eight Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund (DSBF) divisions for two-and-three-year-old colt and filly trotters and pacers.
The 2011 Progress Pace was won by Westwardho Hanover, a supplemental entry driven to victory by Hall of Famer Dave Palone, in 1:49.1, while in Matron divisions, Tim Tetrick recorded three of the four three-year-old winners, pacer Heston Blue Chip, and trotters Pekoe Fashion and Check Me Out, after rallying from 25-lengths back following breaking stride going to the first quarter. Destinys Chance with David Miller won the freshman filly pace.
The Matron Sophomore championships were won by Hugadragon and Drop The Ball, both driven by Yannick Gingras, Crys Dream handled by former track leading driver Luc Ouellette and Big Rigs and Dave Palone upsetting Chapter Seven in deep stretch to win the colt trot.
Each Fall and early Spring, the Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund (DSBF) presents its top Delaware-sired two-year-olds and later the four divisions for three-year-olds in two preliminary legs with the top eight point getters returning for $100,000 finals.
Josh Green returns looking for an eighth consecutive leading trainer crown while Corey Callahan seeks a fourth straight leading driver title.
The daily racing schedule in November and December features Sunday through Thursday cards with weekday posts at 4:30 p.m. and at 1 p.m. on Sundays. There is no live racing on Fridays. Also dark days are Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 22, and in December, Dec. 21-28- the annual Christmas Holiday break- and on New Year’s Eve day, Dec. 31.
In January and February, Saturday becomes a race day, and also will have a 1 p.m. post time. An exception is no live racing on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 3.
The March and April schedule finds five-days-a-week racing on Sunday through Thursday, with no racing on Easter Sunday, March 31.
(Dover Downs)