It’s an absolutely monster weekend of racing in the mid-Atlantic.  Three tracks — Parx Racing, Charles Town, and Laurel Park — all have huge cards: three graded races at Parx, the $350,000 De Francis Dash and a half-dozen grass stakes at Laurel, and a pair of $400,000 stakes for sophomores  plus an armload of supporting stakes at Charles Town.

Oh, and though they’re not listed here, don’t sleep on three state-bred stakes from Monmouth on Saturday, either!

Let’s see what’s on tap…

We’ll start with Parx, which has the earliest post time (12:25).  The track is presenting four stakes, three graded, including the two biggest events of its year: the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby (G2) for three year-olds and the $1 million Cotillion (G1) for three year-old fillies.

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Then it’s on to Laurel (1:10 first post).  The track has a huge card, highlighted by the $350,000 De Francis Dash.  It also includes a half-dozen turf stakes, among them two of the most historic races in the state: the Laurel Futurity and the Selima, for two year-olds and two year-old fillies, respectively.

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Finally, kicking off at 5:00, Charles Town presents its two biggest races for sophomores, both at 7 furlongs and both worth $400,000: the Researcher and the Charles Town Oaks.  In addition to the races listed here, CT also has several $35,000 events for West Virginia-breds on the docket.

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