Donato Heads Derby list

Despite changing the World Trotting Derby conditions so that it will be contested as a single dash, there are 37 horses eligible to this year's race, down from the 46 nominated for the 2006 edition. Donato Hanover, the 2006 Dan Patch 2-year-old colt trotter of the year, heads the list of eligibles to the $550,000 (est.) race, which will be held Saturday, Sept. 1, at the DuQuoin State Fair.

Ths year the Derby will be contested under a new format that calls for 10 finalists racing one heat for the entire purse. The finalists will be the 10 horses with the highest earnings at time of entry.

This is the second straight year that horses have been nominated to the World Trotting Derby in the year of the race. Previously, nominations were taken in March of a horse’s 2-year-old year and sustaining payments were made in February of the 3-year-old season.

In 2003 there were 64 three-year-old sustaining payments for that year’s Derby, which was rained out. There were 57 colts and geldings sustained for the 2004 race won by Tom Ridge in a world record 1:50.2. In 2005 the number sustained dropped to 35 for the race won by Vivid Photo. Last year Chocolatier won the race after 46 were nominated.

This year’s filly division of the World Trotting Derby also will be raced on Sept. 1. The list of 40 nominees includes 2006 Breeders Crown 2-year-old filly trot champion Possess The Magic.

The number of nominations for this year’s filly race is a large increase from last year when only 26 were nominated. From 2002 through 2005, the number of 3-year-old fillies who were sustained for the Filly World Trotting Derby were 46, 43, 39 and 31, respectively. (With files from DuQuoin State Fair)

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