PA-Bred Stakes Schedule Begins in Earnest

The 2016 Pennsylvania-bred stakes schedule, valued at $2.2 million, kicked off May 28 at Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course and will continue June 4 at Parx Racing.

There are 22 stakes, each worth $100,000, on this year's schedule; five of them will make up Pennsylvania's Day at the Races Sept. 3 at Parx. Each stakes carries a 25% Pennsylvania-sired bonus for first-, second-, and third-place finishers.

The stakes series began with an upset when In To Win Racing's Devilwentogeorgia, a 46-1 shot trained by Eduardo Rojas and ridden by Dana Whitney, won the Lyphard Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on the turf at Penn National. Bred by Samantha Kamen and Devil His Due Syndicate, Devilwentogeorgia, a 5-year-old Devil His Due mare, previously won a maiden event and an allowance race in 18 starts.

Freedom Acres' Disco Chick, who hasn't faced state-bred competition since a fifth-place finish in the 2015 Foxy J. G. Stakes, is scheduled to try again June 4 in this year's edition of the seven-furlong stakes for fillies and mares. The winner of $468,800 is, however, in much better form this year.

The 5-year-old Jump Start   mare bred by Y. Jerry Kolybabiuk has won open stakes in her last two starts and before that had a pair of seconds behind Lady Sabelia, one of the top sprinters in Maryland. Trained by Mario Serey Jr., Disco Chick won the May 20 Skipat Stakes at Pimlico Race Course by eight lengths in her last start and will return on about two weeks rest for the Foxy J. G.

In the other Pennsylvania-bred stakes June 4, the Lyman for 3-year-olds and up at seven furlongs, The Elkstone Group's Edge of Reality, a 6-year-old Lawyer Ron gelding trained by Graham Motion, looks to win for the first time since last June at Parx.

Edge of Reality, who has earned $565,900, began 2016 with a third-place finish in a one-mile allowance race at Parx in March and followed up with even fourth-place finish in the Henry Clark Stakes at one mile on the turf at Laurel Park in late April and would cut back for the Lyman. He has a record of five wins, a second, and a third in nine starts at Parx.

The two Parx stakes were pushed back on the calendar because of an equine herpesvirus quarantine that recently ended.

Two Pennsylvania-breds won open stakes Memorial Day weekend: Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners' Illuminant (Quality Road), bred by Sycamore Hill Farm, won the grade I Gamely Stakes on turf at Santa Anita Park May 30, while Ken and Sarah Ramsey's Al's Gal (English Channel  ), bred by Malone Racing, won the Keertana Stakes on the grass at Churchill Downs May 28.