Purse Increases

Sam Houston Race Park announced Sunday that it will raise its overnight purses for the remainder of the 2021 Thoroughbred meet. The increases will go into effect starting Wednesday, Feb. 17 and will continue through closing day, Apr. 3. All main track purses will be increased by $7,000, while turf purses will see a $2,000 bump. The track cited strong handle figures, which are up 40% year over year including a record-setting handle of $5.3 million on the Houston Racing Festival card Jan. 31, as the reason for the changes....

Santa Anita Park announced Saturday that overnight purses for its 2020-21 season, which begins in its traditional Dec. 26 card, will be raised by 10% to a daily average of $533,000. The meet will run through June 20, 2021. Six stakes on opening day include the GI Malibu S., GI La Brea S. and GI American Oaks. Other meet highlights include the GI Santa Anita H. Mar. 6 and GI Santa Anita Derby Apr. 3. Click for a complete stakes schedule, pending approval by the Thoroughbred Owners of California. "Building...

It's racing during the frigid winter months at a blue-collar racetrack, so Aqueduct may not always be the easiest sell. But New York Racing Association (NYRA) officials are expecting a strong five-month run once the track opens Nov. 6, counting on robust purses to convince owners and trainers to choose the Big A over options like Gulfstream and Oaklawn. Typically, purses decrease once the fall meet at Belmont is over. Racing at Aqueduct handles less than it does at Belmont and there is a drop off in the quality. But...

The New York Racing Association announced Thursday the schedules for the 2020-21 winter and spring meets at Aqueduct Racetrack. In addition, NYRA announced that the purse increases now in effect across a number of categories at the Belmont Park fall meet will be extended to the fall, winter and spring meets at Aqueduct. Purses for open claiming and maiden claiming races at NYRA are the highest in the country. The open $25,000 claiming category will see a $4,000 increase to $50,000, while the $40,000 maiden-claiming condition will now offer a...

Ellis Park is increasing its base purses by 20% starting with Friday's races, the track announced Sunday. The increase boosts the purses of all overnight races, which are claiming, maiden and allowance races. It comes on top of a $6,000 per-race increase in Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund (KTDF) purse supplements announced last week for non-claiming maiden and allowance races. With the hike for the remaining three weeks of the RUNHAPPY Summer Meet at Ellis Park, maiden special weight (non-claiming) races will have a purse totaling $46,200 for Kentucky-bred horses and...