The prestigious Grade I King's Bishop S. for 3-year-old sprinters at Saratoga has been renamed in honor of H. Allen Jerkens, the New York Racing Association announced Tuesday.
The former King's Bishop, run at seven furlongs on dirt on the GI Travers S. undercard, will now be the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial, paying homage to the Hall of Fame trainer who passed away in 2015. The $500,000 race was inaugurated in 1984 and named for the Jerkens trainee who most notably captured the 1973 GII Carter H. in a track record-setting performance.
“Allen Jerkens is a name that is synonymous with all that is great about racing at New York Racing Association tracks,” said NYRA President and CEO Chris Kay. “It is an honor for NYRA to be able to pay tribute to his accomplishments and contributions with the renaming of the King's Bishop to the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial.”
Jerkens, for whom the Saratoga training title is named, racked up more than a dozen training crowns on the NYRA circuit, including four at the Spa. He was honored in the track's second annual “Red Jacket” Ceremony in 2014 and was inducted into Saratoga's “Walk of Fame.”
“He was a big part of New York racing for 50-plus years, so it's a big deal,” said Allen's son, trainer Jimmy Jerkens. “He's certainly deserving of it, and if they were going to rename a race, it would make sense that they use the King's Bishop because he trained the horse. It means a lot. He'd probably be blushing right now.”
NYRA also released the full 2017 stakes schedule for Saratoga Tuesday. The meet will be highlighted by the 148th running of the $1.25 million Travers Aug. 26 and the 90th renewal of the $1.2 million GI Whitney S. Aug. 5, two of 16 Grade I's and 34 total graded stakes scheduled to be run over the flat.
The 40-day meet opens Friday, July 21 with the GIII Schuylerville S. for 2-year-old fillies on dirt and the GIII Lake George S. for sophomore lasses on turf. Closing day is Monday, Sept. 4 and will feature the GI Hopeful S. for 2-year-old males and GII Bernard Baruch S. for older males on turf.
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