Penn National Reschedules Two Turf Stakes

Two $50,000 turf stakes scheduled for the weekend of Sept. 7-8 at Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course have been rescheduled for the weekend of September 14-15.

"We have taken an excessive amount of rain in recent days and the turf wouldn't be available for the races," said Mark Loewe, vice president of racing, in a release. "Race secretary Dave Bailey wants to give the 3-year olds a chance to run over the grass as the season winds down, so we moved them to the later dates."

Nominations for the Sept. 14 Alison McClay Stakes and the Sept. 15 Thomas Clifton Stakes have been re-opened.

"We know horsemen will be making some changes in their schedules, so we will take nominations until midnight on Friday, Sept. 7," said Bailey in a statement.

Both of the races are five-furlong turf sprints. The Alison McClay is for sophomore fillies, while the Clifton is an open dash for 3-year olds.

The latter race honors the memory of one of Penn National's all-time leading jockeys who passed away earlier this year at age 43 after losing a long battle with cancer. The St. Louis native was based at the Grantville oval for more than 18 years.

Clifton led all riders at Penn National in 1999 with 127 wins, and again in 2005 with 161 victories. He rode 12,425 starters with 2,016 victories, 1,796 seconds, and 1,653 thirds through a career that began in 1994. His mounts recorded purse earnings of $19,864,479.