News Releases

Thursday, September 03, 2015Contact: Bob Curran Jr. (212) 521-5326
Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga Next Stop for The Jockey Club Tour on FOX Sports 1

The Jockey Club Tour on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) will visit Saratoga Race Course on Monday, September 7, for live coverage of the prestigious $350,000 Hopeful Stakes (G1). The telecast on FS1 and FOX Sports GO (Digital) will air from 5 to 6 p.m. EDT.

The show will include a feature on Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, with a retrospective look at his second-place finish in the Travers Stakes and an update on future plans for the colt.

Tom Durkin, the longtime New York Racing Association announcer and a resident of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., will make a live appearance and has co-produced “Life at Saratoga.” In this feature Durkin will visit some of his favorite places in Saratoga.

The “stars of tomorrow” segment of the telecast will feature up-and-coming trainer Joe Sharp, who is married to ex-jockey Rosie Napravnik. Sharp is currently ranked 40th in earnings for 2015 with $2.19 million after only a year on his own.

Contested for 2-year-olds at 7 furlongs on the dirt, the Hopeful Stakes was first run in 1903 and often provides an early look at contenders for the  next Triple Crown series.

The list of past winners includes Man o’ War (1919), Whirlaway (1940), Secretariat (1973) and Affirmed (1977), all of whom went on to win the Triple Crown, as well as numerous other champions.

“The Hopeful Stakes gives us the opportunity to showcase horses that may be headed to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile later this year and then the Triple Crown races next spring,” said Jason Wilson, president, TJC Media Ventures.

The telecast will also provide live coverage of the Bernard Baruch Handicap for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/16 miles on the turf, which was won by champion Wise Dan in 2014.

The on-air duties will once again be handled by Greg Wolf, Richard Migliore, Andy Serling, and Alyssa Ali.

Following the Hopeful Stakes, The Jockey Club Tour on FS1 will conclude its 2015 schedule on Sunday, September 13, with live coverage of the Ricoh Woodbine Mile (GI), a Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series race, at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto.

Date

Time (ET)

Race

Track

Monday, Sept. 7

5:00-6:00 p.m.

Hopeful Stakes (G1)

Saratoga Race Course, Saratoga Springs, New York

Sunday, Sept. 13

4:30-6:00 p.m.

Ricoh Woodbine Mile (G1)

Woodbine Racetrack, Toronto


FS1 is America’s new national multi-sport channel that launched on August 17, 2013, in approximately 90 million homes and boasts nearly 5,000 hours of live event, news and original programming annually. The channel has several pillar sports: college basketball and football, MLB, NASCAR, NFL (ancillary programs), international soccer, UFC and Golden Boy boxing, and USGA events, including the U.S. Open, and FIFA Women’s World Cup. FOX SPORTS LIVE is FS1’s flagship 24/7 news, opinion and highlights program, providing around the clock coverage through regularly scheduled programs, hourly updates and an information rich ticker. For more information, visit msn.foxsports.com/foxsports1.

The Jockey Club, founded in 1894 and dedicated to the improvement of Thoroughbred breeding and racing, is the breed registry for North American Thoroughbreds. In fulfillment of its mission, The Jockey Club, directly or through subsidiaries, provides support and leadership on a wide range of important industry initiatives, and it serves the information and technology needs of owners, breeders, media, fans and farms. It is a founding member of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities and the architect and sole funding source for America’s Best Racing, the broad-based fan development initiative for Thoroughbred racing. You can follow America’s Best Racing at americasbestracing.net as well as on social media platforms Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, and Instagram.