At the 2025 USTA Board of Directors meeting, the following rule was passed regarding the racing of Two-Year-Olds: “Two-year-olds must have at least two days in between race days. No two-year-old shall be permitted to start in a heat or race exceeding one mile in distance and no two-year-old shall be permitted to race in more than one heat or dash in any single day. Starting any two-year-old in violation of this rule shall result in the horse being disqualified from the second start.” 



Please note this rule replaces the frequency of starts rule listed in the Illinois Stakes Guide on p. 24. For example, if a horse was entered to race on Sunday, it would not be eligible to race again until Wednesday. In addition, if races were delayed a day due to rain, this rule would still be in effect and your horse would have to be scratched from one event or the other. The trainer/owner will decide the location of where they will scratch and will notify the officials at that event as soon as possible. If a scratch is required at a fair due to this rule, you will not be responsible for the entry or maintenance fee at the scratched location and the purse will be reduced by $50 per scratched horse. Please keep this new rule in mind when entering your two-year-olds. This rule change only affects two-year-olds. The frequency of starts rule as listed in the Illinois Stakes Guide will still be in place for all other ages.