Presque Isle, new track(poly), to open 9/1
 

Presque Isle Downs,located near Erie, PA, opens September 1st and will host Thoroughbred racing. It is a one mile main track using the Tapeta artificial surface. There will be 25-nights of racing in 2007 and they expect to ask for 100 race dates in 2008. Purses are expected to offer $40,000 for maidens plus a supplement from slots revenue making those races worth $50,000 or more. First post is 5:30 p.m. (Eastern Time) six nights each week with Tuesday the lone dark day. The inaugural meet ends September 29.

What? When did this happen?!?!

Thanks for the breaking news, Mike!

They just started building it yesterday.

There are quite a few $100K stakes races this year and even a $400K stakes race for fillies and mares.

It is about 90 minutes south of Buffalo, NY.

There are quite a few horseman and owners working on getting their PA license right now.

Like all racing, it is about the money. Big purses get good horses.

Andy Beyers article on it
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...082001530.html

Hmmm, any more news on what trainers and jockeys are planning on going there?

Scott Lake plans on having quite a few there. You can expect a big group of the Woodbine talent there.

received a work-out notice on a stable mail had put in from KEE last fall cause she liked the all-weather surface, don't know if she's still with A$$mussen or not, we shall see..

Workout Notification
Tactical
Your Comment: B.f. 2 Stravinsky/Dehere, 10.21.06, KEE 7F poly, Asmussen/Bridgmohan
Date: August 24, 2007
Track: Presque Isle Downs
Distance: Five Furlongs
Time: 1.00:40
Track Condition: Fast
Surface: All Weather Track
Rank: 1/7

This is going to be awesome. I now have something to do the day before my cousin's wedding in Erie in a few weeks. Erie is my dad's hometown and while it can seem dead, it does have a nice little romance about it, so I hope Presque Isle has some success.

65 trainers have been allotted stall space.

They include;

Asmussen
Bacon
D. Baird
J. Baird
R. Beattie
S. Beattie
T. Beattie
Bennett
Biamonte
Binder Jr.
S. Brown
Campitelli
Capestro
Chapman
Cheeks
Conner
Correnti
L. Cox
Crane
Scooter Davis
Dickinson
Englehart
B. Flint
Hunter
D. Johnson
G. Johnson
Kasperski jr.
Kintz
S. Klesaris
Lake
Lauer
Lawrence
Madrigal Sr.
Maker
Markham
McClelland
McDonnell
McGreevey
Merryman
H. G. Motion
Newmann
N. O'Callaghen
Pappada
Ben Perkins
Prichard
Radosevich
L. Reed
Reeder
Reinstedler
Rivelli
Ross
Russell
Scherer
Seeger
John Servis
Sharp
M. Shuman
Burton Sipp <-- Thought that choice was interesting
Sowle
Stites
Thibodeau
T. Tullock Jr.
D. Vance
G. Wismer

Thanks for posting the trainer/stall info, DrUgs. What a wild assortment. Look forward to the meet

Who is Burton Sipp?

One of the most notorious men to ever saddle a horse.

http://www.boston.com/sports/other_s...in_the_saddle/

Thanks for the link, DrugS, to an excellent find of an article.

Truly he must be a sick man, by his own admission: "''I never once used drugs, I don't drink, and I don't smoke," Sipp said. ''I'm in bed most every night by 9 o'clock."