posted on 9/3/2012 2:24 pm

The fall Grand Circuit meet at The Red Mile in Lexington, KY has long been the showcase for the very finest racing our sport has to offer. The historic red clay mile oval is a true test that separates the champion from the pretender. They greats have all raced here, with Immortals such as Greyhound, Niatross and Moni Maker adding to their rich legacy with remarkable Red Mile accomplishments.

The current racing speed record on the mile track for both trotters and pacers is currently the shared property of this hallowed ground. Pacer Somebeachsomewhere toured the strip in 1:46.4 during the 2008 meet to equal the fastest race ever. A year earlier, both Donato Hanover and Giant Diablo trotted 1:50.1 miles to set the bar.

            The 2012 Grand Circuit meeting will bring the stars of harness racing to Kentucky for two weeks beginning on Thursday, September 27^th with an evening post time of 7:00 on Thursday, Friday & Saturday and a Sunday matinee at 1:00PM.

            The second week of the Championship Meet is an all daylight schedule with racing Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday at 1:00 PM each afternoon. The International Stallion Stakes for freshmen pacers and trotters populate Thursday and Friday and Saturday is Ladies’ Day with the filly divisions of the top sophomore stakes featured.

            Closing day is Sunday, October 7^th and the best has been held for last. The Crown Jewel of the Red Mile meet, the 120^th Kentucky Futurity is scheduled for that afternoon and the promise of another epic battle looms. The last bastion of heat racing for the trot, the Futurity demands both the speed and endurance that only a standardbred can produce. The format requires the champion to win two heats in a single afternoon, often requiring a race-off between the heat winners.

            The supporting card on Sunday includes the Tattersalls Pace, an important stake for the three year old pacing colts, as well as the Allerage Farms Open events for the stars of both gaits and sexes of the older horse division.

Beginning at 7:00 on the evening of Tuesday, October 2^nd is the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale where the champions of the future are sold at auction. The most desired pedigrees in the business are well represented by the progeny of the very same horses who thrilled us over this ground in seasons past. The sale continues each evening at 7:00, concluding on Saturday night.

Article by: Nick Salvi