Parx-based trainers, Pennsylvania owners, and Pennsylvania-bred horses get ready for Pennsylvania’s biggest day of racing on Saturday, September 19, 2026. The 1million dollar Grade 1 betPARX Pennsylvania Derby and the 1million dollar Grade 1 Cotillion Stakes highlight the card. Also on the card is the Grade 2 $400,000 Gallant Bob Stakes, named after the 1975 Eclipse Award winning sprinter that was based in Pennsylvania and won major stakes at the old Liberty Bell Racetrack and Keystone Racetrack, now Parx Racing. A total of eight stakes are on the card.
Gates open at 10 A.M., and the first live post is 10:35 A.M. The picnic grove offers free family fun that includes live music. Pony rides, face painters, moon bounce, and food and drink specials are available. Free hat giveaway at the gate while supplies last.
Will Pennsylvania-bred Bartlett make it three wins in a row? Bartlett is entered in the $150,000 Stable Recovery Stakes on the dirt going six and a half furlongs for four-year olds and up. He won his last two races, both stakes. In his last outing, Bartlett won the Pennsylvania Governor’s Cup on the turf at Penn National, and prior to that win, he won the Storm Cat Stakes on the dirt at Parx. “It is a tough race with him shortening up in distance,” said trainer John Servis, “but, he is coming into the race very strong and good.” Two other PA-breds, Maximus Meridius and Houghton Shuffle compete for the win.
The Gallant Bob Stakes includes two horses trained by Parx trainers. Mailata, trained by Butch Reid, and N.Y. Finest, trained by Uriah St. Lewis. Mailata won last year’s Pennsylvania Nursery Stakes and is 15-1 in the early odds, and N.Y. Finest won a maiden special weight race at Laurel in March and is 20-1 in the early odds. Both horses face stiff competition.
Uriah St. Lewis trains a longshot in the Cotillion Stakes, Savor It. At 30-1 odds, she faces tough competition, but can St. Lewis pull it off?
The betPARX Pennsylvania Derby for three-year olds going one mile and one eighth includes several horses with Pennsylvania connections. Pennsylvania-bred Ponder and Dream, by Uncle Lino, trained by Butch Reid was second in the Smarty Jones Stake at Parx. The Smarty Jones is considered the prep race for the PA Derby. He also won the Lil E Tee Stakes at Parx. He faces his toughest competition yet.
A possible late-bloomer, Zihnal is owned by prominent Pennsylvania owner and breeder George Strawbridge Jr.’s Augustin Stable. The lightly raced Zihnal started five times and won twice including a win in the Grade 3 West Virginia Derby which he won by six and a quarter lengths. He raced across the country starting at Santa Anita, then Churchill Downs, then Horseshoe Indianapolis where he broke his maiden. His next start was the Indiana Derby where he finished fourth. In his last start, in August, Zihnal won the mile and one eighth Grade 3 West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer Casino with jockey John Velazquez on board. He won impressively and handily. He is trained by Jonathan Thomas and will be ridden by Hall of Famer’ John Velazquez in the PA Derby where he will face Grade 1 competition.
Top horses, riders, and trainers from across the country meet this Saturday at Parx along with Pennsylvania breeders, owners and jockeys for a day of top-notch racing.
