Eight of the country’s top thoroughbreds have made the cut ahead of next month’s Black Pineapple Stakes, the first instalment in the 2017 Antigua Triple Crown Series being hosted by the Antigua Turf Club.
The race, which carries a $15,000 purse is slated for Easter Monday (April 17) at the Cassada Gardens Race Track.
Lil Miss Perfect (575 points); U better Believe It (450 points); Demolition Man (425 points); Chief of Staff (400 points); Lynn’s Image (225 points); Scrum Pum (200 points); and The First Lady (200 points) have all, thus far, qualified for the event which will stretch for eight furlongs.
D Queen B, with 450 points, has conditionally qualified for the race.
This will mark the fourth year of the series, which began in 2014.
According to organisers, the Easter Monday race meet will be twinned with the usual entertainment, with popular DJs including Sheldon, D Spanyard, Professor Irish and Renegade International rocking the pre-party which begins at 12:30 pm.
Antigua and Barbuda Turf Club President Neil Cochrane said the organisation anticipates a thrilling series this year.
“The Triple Crown Series, based on the feedback and the hype, was a welcomed addition to our calendar. It has piqued and renewed interest, ramped up competition, and helped to move the sport forward,” he said.
“We expect this year’s edition to build upon that, and we want to send an invitation to all of the usual suspects, the patrons we haven’t seen in a while and sports enthusiasts and fun-loving people to join us on Easter Monday,” Cochrane said.
Once the first leg is settled, attention will turn to race two, the Dr Sir Cuthwin Lake Super Sprint, which runs over 6 furlongs and carries a purse of $11,250, and the final race, the Governor General’s Cup, which, at 9.5 furlongs, is the longest race on the calendar, and carries a prize purse of $18,750.