Tioga Downs Stall Apps Still Available

Stalls are still available at Tioga Downs as the March 12th deadline has been extended.

Through March 23rd, about 100 stalls were still available.

“In the past, Pompano had been shutting down around the time we opened, and then we were shutting down around the time they reopened, so we had a nice little thing going there,” said Director of Racing Jason Bluhm. “Now that Pompano is racing year-round, we lost some of the Florida guys and have room for some new stables.”

Tioga Downs recently announced a purse increase of 10 percent to kick off the 2011 meet.

The Open will go from $15,000 to $16,500 and average daily purses are now $70,000.

Tioga also hosts eight legs of the Sire Stakes as well as the following stakes: the Simpson, the Empire Breeders Classic, the Bettor’s Delight, the Artiscape, the Miss Versatility, the Historics, the Tompkins-Geers, the NY State Fair, and the Zweig.

"It is an exciting place to race," said Bluhm. "We have a great barn area, a good drivers’ colony and we hope to attract some new stables.

Stall applications can be found by visiting Tioga Downs’ website at www.tiogadowns.com/racinginfo.php.