Nyquist, Exaggerator top 30 Haskell invites
American Pharoah won the 2015 Haskell. Photo by Aubrey Therkelsen/EQUI-PHOTO.
From a Monmouth Park release
A total of 30 invites have gone out for the $1 million betfair.com Haskell Invitational, centerpiece of the racing season at Monmouth Park, to be renewed for the 49th time on Sunday, July 31.
Leading the way are the three horses that captured this year’s Triple Crown races: Nyquist (Kentucky Derby), Exaggerator (Preakness Stakes) and Creator (Belmont Stakes), coupled with a trio from the Bob Baffert barn (American Freedom, Arrogate and Cupid) as the Hall of Fame trainer looks to add on to his already record eight betfair.com Haskell wins.
The Grade 1 betfair.com Haskell, which last year saw Triple Crown winner American Pharoah wow a record crowd of more than 60,000, is contested at a mile and eighth. Throughout its history, equine participants in the betfair.com Haskell have won 39 Triple Crown races, nine Horse of the Year trophies and seven Breeders’ Cup Classics.
Betfair, the operator of the world’s most popular exchange wagering platform, is a first-time sponsor of the Haskell and has recently launched exchange wagering in New Jersey, making it the first state in the US where residents can wager on racing on the international exchange platform.
In addition to the Grade 1 betfair.com Haskell on July 31, that day’s racing card includes four other graded stakes: Grade 2, $200,000 Monmouth Cup; Grade 3, $150,000 Oceanport; Grade 3, $100,000 Molly Pitcher; and, Grade 3, $100,000 WinStar Matchmaker.
The entire list of invites, to date, for this year’s Haskell is:
Adventist
American Freedom
Arrogate
Awesome Slew
Awesome Speed
Brody’s Cause
Cherry Wine
Connect
Creator
Cupid
Dalmore
Destin
Donegal Moon
Economic Model
Exaggerator
Gift Box
Governor Malibu
Gun Runner
Mo Tom
Mohaymen
My Man Sam
Nyquist
Shagaf
Songbird
Stradivari
Suddenbreakingnews
Sunny Ridge
Swipe
Thatlookonyerface
Tom’s Ready