Harrah's Chester kicks off 2nd season

Filed in archive Racing on July 6, 2007

Harrah's Chester Casino & Racetrack will kick off its second live racing season on Monday, July 9. The 95-day stand will feature racing on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays through December 20. First post time will be 3:30 p.m. in July, August, and September. The track will shift to an earlier post time of 12:45 p.m. starting October 1.

The meet will be highlighted by the inaugural edition of the $300,000 ben franklin Free-For-All Pace final on Sunday, July 22. The Ben Franklin is expected to attract the finest pacers in training, with early nominees including Lis Mara, Total Truth, Artistic Fella, Holborn Hanover, JK CU Later, and Nuclear Breeze.

Other featured events on the stakes agenda include the return of two fixtures known to all Delaware Valley harness racing fans, the $200,000 Battle of the Brandywine for three-year-old pacers on Sunday, August 19, and the $200,000 Colonial for three-year-old filly trotters on Sunday, August 12. The "Battle" was last contested in 1989 at old Brandywine Raceway and the Colonial was the marquee race at Liberty Bell Park, which closed in 1985.

Harrah's Chester officials have produced an initial condition sheet that offers approximately $160,000 per day in purse monies, an amount that is expected to increase during the early stages of the meet. Top purses invariably attract top horsemen, and fans can expect to enjoy watching a drivers' colony that will include Hall of Famer Cat Manzi, the champion driver last year at Harrah's Chester; Tim Tetrick, the current 2007 national leader in dash victories; Anthony Morgan, for years a national powerhouse; Ron Pierce, the 2006 leading money-earner; and Brian Sears, the top reinsman at The Meadowlands, to name just a few.

Those taking in the Harrah's Chester action around the world via simulcast - and on-track, too - will hear a new voice calling the race action. Twenty-one-year-old James Witherite-Rieg, the youngest announcer at any major racetrack in North America, will assume the microphone duties this season. A senior at Duquesne University, Witherite-Rieg boasts race calling experience far beyond his years and served as a fill-in announcer at Harrah's Chester in 2006. His exciting, precise style is sure to be a hit amongst racing fans.

Harrah's Chester is located just south of Philadelphia in Chester, Pennsylvania. Parking and admission are free, and simulcast wagering is offered every day from noon until midnight.

Harrah's Chester is owned and operated by Harrah's Entertainment and CD&M. Founded 68 years ago in Reno, NV, Harrah's Entertainment, Inc., is the world's largest provider of branded casino entertainment through operating subsidiaries. Harrah's Entertainment is focused on building loyalty and value with its customers through a unique combination of great service, excellent products, unsurpassed distribution, operational excellence and technology leadership.