Multiple Grade I Winner Matareya Headlines $225,000 Chicago Stakes (GIII)

Godolphin’s Derby City Distaff (Grade I) winner Matareya headlines a field of six fillies and mares that entered Saturday’s 33rd running of the $225,000 Chicago Stakes (GIII) at Ellis Park Racing & Gaming.

    The Chicago Stakes will be run at seven furlongs on the main track and was carded as Race 9 of 10 with a post time of 3:55 p.m. First post is 11:45 a.m. 

    Matareya, trained by Brad Cox, is a two-time Grade I winning sprinter. Prior to her Grade I glory in the $750,000 Derby City Distaff presented by Kendall-Jackson Winery, Matareya won last year’s Acorn Stakes (GI) as a 3-year-old. Matareya has one prior start at Ellis Park when she broke her maiden as a 2-year-old by 4 ½ lengths. Jockey Flavien Prat, who’s been aboard Matareya for her last six starts, will be in the saddle from post No. 2.

    Another Grade I winner that entered the Chicago Stakes is Peter Blum Thoroughbreds’ Society. Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, Society won last year’s Cotillion Stakes (GI) at Parx. In her last start, Society faded to ninth in the 1 1/16-mile La Troienne Stakes (GI) but will cut back in distance in the Chicago Stakes with Tyler Gaffalione in the saddle from post 5.

    Here is the complete field for the Chicago Stakes from the rail out (with jockey and trainer):

    1. Hidden Connection (Luis Saez, Bret Calhoun)
    2. Matareya (Prat, Cox)
    3. Be Like Water (Brian Hernandez Jr., Vicki Oliver)
    4. Stella Noir (James Graham, Keith Desormeaux)
    5. Society (Gaffalione, Asmussen)
    6. Drifaros (Martin Garcia, Teresa Pompay)

    Fans can watch and wager on all the action from the “Pea Patch” on www.TwinSpires.com, the official wagering provider of Churchill Downs Incorporated.

    For more information about racing and gaming from Ellis Park, visit www.ellisparkracing.com. 

ABOUT ELLIS PARK RACING & GAMING
Ellis Park, Racking and Gaming (“Ellis Park”) located north of the Ohio River and just south of Evansville, Indiana, has been the home of summer Thoroughbred racing in Kentucky for over 100 years. Ellis Park also features a gaming entertainment venue with approximately 300 historical racing machines.

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