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Larry Collmus, TVG, HRRN To Anchor On-Site Coverage Of Friday’s Charles Town Classic

With new food, beverage and entertainment options available to those making it to Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races on Friday, Aug. 27, those unable to make it out to the track's largest racing event will still be able to enjoy the action whether at home, in the car or watching through one of Charles Town's many simulcast partners.

For those at home, the Charles Town Classic card will once again be broadcast live on the TVG Network, with the added bonus of TVG providing feet on the ground coverage with analyst Caton Bredar reporting from West Virginia. Bredar, who has worked behind the scenes and in front of the camera for ABC, ESPN, CBS and FOX amongst others marks the first on-site appearance by TVG since the 2012 edition of the Charles Town Classic.

The Horse Racing Radio Network, a winner of multiple Eclipse Awards and a Sovereign Award for its multimedia coverage of racing events will be broadcasting the Charles Town Classic for the tenth consecutive year. HRRN's on-site coverage will be anchored by Mike Penna and announcer Bobby Neuman with the show available to listeners on Sirius channel 216 and XM 201 as well as streaming through the Horse Racing Radio Network website.

Additionally, a familiar face – and voice – to racing fans will be seen on the track's simulcast feed with NBC's voice of the Triple Crown and Breeders' Cup, Larry Collmus handing paddock host duties for stakes races on the latter portion of the card. Collmus, who famously called American Pharoah's 2015 Triple Crown triumph and Justify's sweep of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes just three years later, served as the track's guest announcer for the Charles Town Classic from 2012 through 2014.

The first race on Charles Town Classic day is slated for 5:00 P.M EST, with the $800,000 Charles Town Classic carrying a tentative post time of 10:18 P.M.

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Happy Saver, Mind Control Top Nominees To Aug. 27 Charles Town Classic

A pair of Grade 1 winners from the barn of recent Hall of Fame inductee Todd Pletcher in 2020 Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) winner Happy Saver and 2019 Allen Jerkens (G1) victor Mind Control as well as defending Charles Town Classic winner Sleepy Eyes Todd lead a list 108 nominations for both the Charles Town Classic and Charles Town Oaks, which closed this past Saturday. The Classic and Oaks will both be run on Charles Town's biggest night of the year – Friday, Aug. 27 – a card that includes a total of nine stakes races with more than $2 million in purse money on the line.

In addition to his two Grade 1 winners, Pletcher also has multiple graded stakes winner Dr. Post and Moretti nominated to West Virginia's richest race – an event he will try and win for the third time after taking it with Caixa Eletronica in 2012 and again with Stanford in 2016.

Thumbs Up Racing's Sleepy Eyes Todd will attempt to buck recent history and do something the last seven horses to attempt the feat have failed to accomplish – win the Charles Town Classic in consecutive years, with Researcher still standing alone as the race's lone back-to-back winner. The five-year-old son of Paddy O'Prado has banked over $1 million in 2021 despite not finding the winners' circle by virtue of his fourth place effort in the Pegasus World Cup (G1) and fifth place finish in the $20 million Saudi Cup (G1).

Bill Mott, who would be sending out his first Classic starter since he saddled Ron the Greek to a third-place finish behind Game on Dude and Clubhouse Ride in the 2013 Classic, has a pair of possible runners in Bruce Lunsford's talented homebred Art Collector as well as multiple graded stakes winner Modernist. Art Collector took the 2020 Blue Grass (G2) at Keeneland and most recently led at every call to win the restricted Alydar Stakes at Saratoga in his first start for Mott.

Multiple graded stakes winner Warrior's Charge headlines a trio of nominations from trainer Brad Cox, a list that also includes Plainsman and Night Ops, second to the aforementioned Art Collector in the Alydar. Owned by Ten Strike Racing and Madaket Stables, Warrior's Charge was most recently seen finishing second to top older horse Maxfield in the Stephen Foster (G2) at Churchill Downs.

Among the other noteworthy nominees for the Charles Town Classic include 2021 New Orleans Classic (G2) winner Chess Chief, 2020 Pimlico Special (G3) victor Harper's First Ride, Tom Durant's multiple graded stakes winner Silver Dust and a pair of west coast invaders in 2019 Nashua (G3) champ Independence Hall and American Stakes (G3) winner Restrainedvengence as well as 2020 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) runner-up Jesus' Team and Ny Traffic, who came within a nose of upsetting eventual Horse of the Year Authentic in the 2020 Haskell (G1).

The Kentucky Oaks (G1) field is represented in the Charles Town Oaks nominations by three fillies who are possible for the race, including 2021 Fantasy (G3) winner Pauline's Pearl, Honeybee (G3) heroine Will's Secret and the Florida based Competitive Speed from the barn of trainer Javier Gonzalez.

Trained by the newly crowned all-time leading trainer in the history of North American thoroughbred racing, Steve Asmussen, Pauline's Pearl would be Asmussen's third ever starter in the Charles Town Oaks after winning the inaugural edition of the race with Four Gifts in 2009 and sending out runner-up Wicked Whisper in 2020.

The Monmouth Oaks (G3) is also well represented in the Charles Town Oaks nominations with the top five finishers under consideration for the Mountain State's only graded race for fillies lead by the first three under the wire – SMD Limited's Leader of the Band, lightly raced Edie Meeny Miny Mo and Midnight Obsession. Leader of the Band and Midnight Obsession are both trained by Charles Town native John Servis.

Entries for the August 27 Charles Town Classic card will be taken on Tuesday, August 24.

Nominations for three more unrestricted stakes all worth $150,000 and all run at seven furlongs – the Misty Bennett Pink Ribbon Stakes for older fillies and mares, the Russell Road for older horses and the Robert Hilton Memorial for three-year-olds – close this upcoming Friday, August 13.

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Two-Day Festival Planned Around Aug. 27 Charles Town Classic

Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races is pleased to announce its 2021 Charles Town Classic will feature two days of fun and excitement on Friday, Aug. 27 and Saturday, Aug. 28. Horse racing and festival fans, beer and wine enthusiasts, foodies, table gamers, slot players and anyone seeking a weekend getaway are invited to attend a brand-new entertainment experience honoring a long-time racing tradition in West Virginia at the world-class resort destination conveniently located just a one-hour drive from the Baltimore and DC beltways.

Friday's schedule will showcase nine marquee race stakes with total purses exceeding $2 million, including the $800,000 Grade 2 Charles Town Classic which features some of the country's top horses, jockeys and trainers, as well as the Grade 3 $400,000 Charles Town Oaks. Horse racing fans of all ages and experience levels can enjoy the races which start at 5 p.m., with the Charles Town Classic itself scheduled for approximately 10:15 p.m.

Incorporating colorful, Instagram-worthy décor, in between races on Friday the event offers a variety of promotions and giveaways as well as live entertainment from 4-11 p.m. and a disc jockey spinning all evening. To add to the excitement, guests can play lawn games out on the apron, have a laugh with Emcee Brian Thomas the Mini Entertainer and interact with talented street artists. To drive home the event's theme there will also be trivia contests on horse racing, with free slot play up for grabs for winners.

Dining options include any of the Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races' 7 different indoor restaurants ranging from delectable Italian eats and burgers to sweet and savory desserts at The Eatery, authentic Hong Kong cuisine at 9 Dragons, award-winning wings at the Skybox Sports Bar or entrees cooked-to-perfection at Final Cut Steakhouse.

For expedited dining, visit one of West Virginia's favorite visiting food trucks out on the apron for delicious eats like nachos and tacos from Roaming Coyote or smoked BBQ from Hog-It-Up BBQ. Libation enthusiasts will also be excited to visit the Charles Town Classic's beer and wine garden to enjoy a fresh pour of craft beer, wine or the event's signature cocktail, a Charles Town-cello, shaken up by celebrity Chef Fabio Viviani, best-known for his participation in Bravo's Top Chef seasons 5 and 8.

Live bands return Saturday starting at 4 p.m., and patrons are invited back to the casino to carry on the festivities. Those with a flair for creativity can participate in a West Virginia-themed hat contest from 4-8 p.m., with cash prizes for winners.

Guests can also join the mychoice rewards program at no cost. New members will receive $10 in free slot play and an additional $10 when they provide a valid email address. From 8 a.m. to midnight, mychoice members who earn 15 tier credits can win up to $1,000 in free slot play in the Charles Town Classic Swipe & Win Kiosk Game. For those who enjoy table games, play and earn entries all day Saturday to be one of five winners to win up to $1,000 mycash at 9 p.m.

Charles Town Classic attendance is free, and fun is mandatory. For additional information regarding the event, visit www.hollywoodcasinocharlestown.com/charles-town-classic and follow the casino on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for updates.

Fun at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races begins long before the 2021 Charles Town Classic. Every Friday and Saturday during the month of August guests can win their share of a racehorse or up to $100,000 cash by using their mychoice rewards card. Winners are announced every hour between 5:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

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‘Why Go Through This Every Year?’: Commission Chair Pushes Synthetic Surface For Charles Town

With 11 fatalities thus far in 2021 and closures this week to evaluate the track surface, Charles Town Races came under fire at this week's meeting of the West Virginia Racing Commission. According to the Thoroughbred Daily News, WVRC Chairman Ken Lowe Jr. strongly recommended that Charles Town consider replacing it's six-furlong dirt oval with a synthetic surface.

“Let's truly think about working together to figure out a way that Charles Town can go to synthetic,” Lowe said. “I don't see an answer to this problem that we have every year here. I know [the track superintendent] is doing a great job. Management's trying…. But why go through this every year? Let's figure out a way to do it so there can possibly be a synthetic surface at Charles Town that solves most of the problems with a proper drainage system, et cetera. I think that's the solution.”

Charles Town's vice president of racing operations, Erich Zimney, responded: “It's certainly something that will have to be discussed internally here, and I would caution against anything rash as far as mandating anything.”