Indiana bids to host Hambletonian Stakes at Hoosier Park

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indiana Horse Racing Commission has positioned Harrah’s Hoosier Park in Anderson to host the Hambletonian Stakes as soon as 2027 for a three-year commitment.

Touted as one of the most prestigious events in global harness racing, the Hambletonian has been run in New Jersey’s Meadowlands Racetrack for 43 consecutive years. The Hambletonian Society for at least a few months has been considering a venue change, the Indiana commission said in a news release issued Thursday, adding that the group has not yet announced a timeline for a selection.

The plans call for a partnership between the Indiana Horse Racing Commission, the Indiana Standardbred Association, and Hoosier Park operator Caesars Entertainment.

Hoosier Park, a parimutuel racetrack that includes slot machines, opened in June 2008, after the Indiana legislature agreed to allow such facilities a year earlier. Tom Reeg, the CEO of Caesars Entertainment, said in the release that Caesars is prepared to invest in the facility to help deliver a world-class event.

The race is for 3-year-old Standardbred fillies competing at a trot. From the 2025 purse of $1 million, $500,000 went to the winner of the final. The Aug. 2 event drew 17,969 people, up about 1,200 people from a year earlier, online reports show. Wagering for the 2025 race totaled $7.64 million in North America.

From a field of more than 20 horses, Nordic Catcher S, driven and trained by Åke Svanstedt, won the 100th edition of the race by 1-1/4 lengths.

The race generally airs on a nationally available broadcast.

The Hambletonian Stakes race, which began in 1926 in Syracuse, New York, spent its first five decades in Lexington, Kentucky; Goshen, New York; and the Illinois State Fair in Du Quoin, Illinois.