MVRC schedules Steel Valley Sprint for Nov. 23

July 11, 2015 at 12:05a.m.

By Bob Roberts

Austintown

Mahoning Valley Race Course has come up with a remedy for those who suffer from the Monday blues. The thoroughbred course is going to schedule its newest and richest race on the first day of the week.

Track officials on Friday announced that the $200,000 Steel Valley Sprint, a six-furlong dash for 3-year-old horses, will be run on Nov. 23, three days before Thanksgiving.

Mark Loewe, Mahoning Valley’s Vice President of Racing Operations, said that with its placement and purse, the Steel Valley Sprint will have tremendous appeal to horsemen and fans.

“Whether it’s a late developing sprinter or a horse coming back three weeks after Breeders’ Cup weekend, [the Steel Valley Sprint] gives a horse one last chance to run against their own age group in a six-figure race,” Loewe said.

The Nov. 23 card also will feature the $75,000 Hollywood Gaming Mahoning Distaff, also a six-furlong dash.

The two new stakes will become part of a 23-race, $5.35 million Penn Gaming Racing Challenge.

Loewe said he believes the additions to the stakes schedule will help MVRC take advantage of a leaner simulcast market.

“Both Zia Park and Penn National have had success running on Wednesday of Thanksgiving week and we wanted to follow suit and run our races when we aren’t competing for attention on the national simulcast calendar,” Loewe said. “The available pie might be smaller, but it’s a lot easier to get a bigger chunk of it on a Monday.”

The Penn Gaming Racing Challenge will conclude over Thanksgiving week with the final three events in the series.

Following the races at Mahoning Valley, Zia Park’s Land of Enchantment Day — headlined by the $300,000 Zia Park Oaks — and Penn National’s Fall Racing Festival, featuring the $200,000 Fabulous Strike at six furlongs, will close out the series on Nov. 25.

Loewe noted that the winners of the two marquee races in the Penn Gaming Racing Challenge run thus far — Moreno, who captured the Charles Town Classic (G2) and Penn Mile (G3) victor Force the Pass — both sit in the top five nationally in terms of purse earnings in 2015.