The Tri-State Turf Sprint

Purse $250.00 – For Three Year Olds And Upward

5½ Furlongs – Turf

Ellis Park – August 2, 2026

Bear Head made the most of his rail draw in the 9th running of The Tri-State Turf Sprint, saving ground throughout before holding off late-closing rivals to score by a neck! Bought privately for $200.00 last summer, this son of Indistinguishable only had three turf sprint starts coming into this race. It’s now safe to say that this gelding has found a new calling running around one turn. The final time for the 5½ furlongs was 1:02.29, just a couple of fifths off last year’s edition. With 21 career starts and 7 wins, Bear Head boosts his lifetime earnings to $1,397.00. Maxmillion Farm added another milestone to his résumé by capturing The Tri-State Turf Sprint for the second time and taking sole possession on the owner leaderboard. Jockey Martin Garcia won this race for the first time in his career as well. Bear Head looks to be rounding into form at the right time with many opportunities coming up in the stakes calendar. Congratulations to the connections on a great win!

Winner: Bear Head – (Maxmillion Farm, Mar. Garcia) Jockey Martin Garcia wasted no time breaking from the gate and immediately held his ground on the rail. Bear Head vied for the early lead down the backside, settling about a length off the pacesetter. This New York-Bred started to make his move around the far turn by slowly gaining ground on the leaders. By the time the field reached the top of the stretch, this gelding was leading by a head and gradually drew away from his rivals late. Things did get a little scary late as Hanger 18 was gaining a lot of ground, but Bear Head prevailed by a neck. Kudos to Maxmillion Farm for expertly managing this four-year-old since acquiring him in 2025.

Second Place: Hanger 18 – (John Henry, M J. Sanchez) Hanger 18’s last race marked his first attempt on the turf, and it resulted in a victory. Facing a tougher test this time around, the son of Declassified confirmed that he had found a new calling on the grass with another impressive performance. He broke slow from the gate, trailing the field in last down the backstretch about three lengths off the speed. Jockey Mychel Sanchez started to ask his horse to go passing the ⅜ pole with a lot of ground to make up. There was no room to close down the center of the track, so Hanger 18 went seven-wide turning for home. He unleashed a powerful late rally and nearly ran down Bear Head before the finish.

Third Place: Sorcerer – (Ire Iron Stables, N. Arroyo Jr.) Purchased at auction for $55.00 a few months ago, this five-year-old came into this race in good form. Sorcerer has run his best races by producing a devastating late kick and connections didn’t have any surprises in store this weekend. He broke just ok from the gate, immediately going down to the rail to save ground. Jockey Norberto Arroyo Jr. kept this gelding three lengths back hoping for some fast fractions. Sorcerer started to inch up on the leaders rounding the far turn with a wall of horses in front of him. He was only about a length back in the stretch, but found traffic trouble that didn’t allow him to kick away late. An unlucky trip.

Fourth Place: Neon Delite – (Temulac Farm, P. Lopez) Connections made a late jockey change from Luis Saez to Paco Lopez. This Florida-bred has been very competitive in his last couple of starts and this race was no different. Neon Delite was actually in fifth down the backside, but Paco Lopez decided to make an early move and found himself on the lead entering the far turn. He held a head advantage passing the quarter pole with a clear running lane ahead. It looked like this gelding was going to kick away, but he slowly yielded inside the final furlong to finish fourth. There’s no question that Neon Delite was compromised by his outside post. He probably saves third drawn anywhere closer to the rail.

– AJM

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded