Gosger Looking To Give Jersey Connections A Lifetime Memory In Saturday’s Haskell Stakes
At 0h04, on July 19, 2025 • By Monmouth Park
Adding the hardware from Saturday’s $1 million, Grade 1 NYRA Bets Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park to the trophy case would be a dream realized for any horseman, but it would be a most prized possession for a Jersey Guy.
“It would mean a lot. It would be great to win the biggest race close to us,” said Fair Lawn, N.J., native Scott Clarke, the son of the late noted owner and breeder Harvey A. Clarke, whose racing stable owns Haskell contender Gosger.
Clarke’s mother, Donna, now heads the racing and breeding operation, which includes Gosger, a homebred who is the 9-2 third choice in the morning line for the 58th edition of the Haskell.
The Haskell headlines a 14-race card featuring six stakes races (five graded). First race post-time on Saturday is noon.
In addition to Grade 1 glory and the seven-figure purse, the Haskell is designated as a “Win and You’re In” race, guaranteeing a spot in the starting gate for the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar on Nov. 1 for the race winner.
“We’ve come to the Haskell before, but this is the first time we’ve had a horse run in it,” said the 35-year-old Clarke, who has taken over his dad’s A.J. Clarke Real Estate Corporation in New York City and inherited his passion for the sport from his father. “This is very special. The Haskell carries a lot of weight.”
The Brendan Walsh-trained Gosger, winner of the Grade 3 Lexington Stakes in April, is no lightweight in the tough field of eight 3-year-olds that includes dual Grade 1 winner Journalism, the Grade 1-winning Burnham Square, Goal Oriented, Bracket Buster, Kentucky Outlaw, National Law, and Wildncrazynight.
“He’s a half to Grade 1 winner Harvey’s Lil Goil and he’s out of a half to (2012 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner) I’ll Have Another,” said Clarke. “He’s got a great brain. He’s cool. Nothing bothers him. He’s just a really nice horse.
“This horse is a joy. From the time he was very small we’ve always had high hopes for him.”
Gosger enters the Haskell off a narrow half-length defeat in the May 17 Preakness won by Journalism, the early 4-5 favorite in the Haskell field.
