Notes on the Ellis Park Barn: Here Mi Song defends the title in the Jeff Hall Memorial

(Here Mi Song / Coady Media)

From Ellis Park Media Team / Kevin Kerstein:

HERE MI SONG RETURNS TO DEFEND THE TITLE AT JEFF HALL MEMORIAL

HENDERSON, Kentucky (Monday, July 15, 2024) – Nathan Hayden‘s talented homegrown Here Mi Songreturns to Ellis Park Racing & Gaming to defend his title in the third annual $125,000 Jeff Hall Memorial on Sunday, run over 6 ½ furlongs on the main track.

Now 6 years old, Here Mi Song will compete in the Jeff Hall Memorial against several experienced sprinters, including Call me quickly And Being happy is a decisiontogether with the quick allowance winnerChamplin and runner-up of the Louisville Thoroughbred Society Gulfstream Way.

The Jeff Hall Memorial field is scheduled to race 8 of 9 and will start at 3:19 p.m. (all times Central Time). The first start is at 11:50 a.m.

Trained by Billy Stinson Jr., Here Mi Song will make his 26th career start on Sunday. As a 5-year-old, Here Mi Song took a surprise 11-1 victory in the Commonwealth (Grade III) at Keeneland before narrowly winning three months later over About Besos in the Jeff Hall Memorial. After a disappointing fifth-place finish in the RA Cowboy Jones in mid-August, Here Mi Song was out of racing until March 9, when he finished sixth in the Big Daddy on the Tapeta surface at Turfway Park. He returned to dirt two months later at Churchill Downs (GI) and finished second. Weapons Pilot. Jockey Edgar Morales will mount Here Mi Song from the inside lane in his defense of the Jeff Hall Memorial.

Breaking a post on its outside is Hooties Race, WSS racesAnd 4G racing‘s Happy Is a Choice. Trained by Ellis Park’s 2022 Champion Conditioner John OrtizHappy Is a Choice has been extremely consistent during his nine-race season, winning four races, including a strong 2 ¼ length victory at Churchill Downs a month ago. Before that win, Happy Is a Choice chased the fast Skelly in the Count Fleet Handicap (GIII) at Oaklawn, but finished third. Jockey Jaime Torres will be mounted in the Jeff Hall Memorial.

Here is the complete field for the Jeff Hall Memorial from the inside track (with jockey and trainer):

• Here Mi Song (Morales, Stinson)
• Being happy is a choice (Jaime Torres, Ortiz)
• Osbourne (Rafael Bejarano, Ron Moquett)
• Call me quick (Francisco Arrieta, Michael Puhich)
• Champlin (Mitchell Murrill, Greg Foley)
• Gulfstream Way (Florent Geroux, Norm Casse)
• Scotland (Cristian Torres, Bill Mott)

In addition to the Jeff Hall Memorial, Sunday’s card includes two Allowances (Races 3 and 6) and two Maiden Special Weights (Races 7 and 9). The Jeff Hall Memorial is the penultimate leg of the Late Pick 5 series, which features an average of 10.6 horses in each race.

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

ABOUT ELLIS PARK RACING & GAMING

Ellis Park, Racing and Gaming (“Ellis Park”), north of the Ohio River and south of Evansville, Indiana, has been the home of summer thoroughbred racing in Kentucky for over 100 years. Ellis Park also features an arcade with approximately 300 historic racing machines.