stakes schedule

The stakes schedule for the 40-day summer meet at historic Saratoga Race Course will include 77 stakes worth $22.6 million in total purses, the New York Racing Association announced Tuesday. Highlighted by the 153rd renewal of the Grade I, $1.25 million Runhappy Travers S. Aug. 27 and the Grade I, $1 million Whitney Aug. 6, the 2022 summer meet will open Thursday, July 14 and continue through Monday, Sept. 5. The Travers Day card will include six stakes races, including five Grade I events. With a focus on the New...

Colonial Downs Racing presented by Woodford Reserve, which kicks off its 27-day "More Racing, More Money and More Fun" Thoroughbred racing season July 11, has unveiled a $3.5-million stakes schedule highlighted by the 19th running of the GIII Virginia Derby. In all, 24 stakes will be contested over the nine-week campaign, 20 of which are scheduled for the Secretariat Turf Course, the widest grass racing surface in the country. Purses for the 2022 stakes program will increase by $850,000 over 2021 totaling over $3.5 million in stakes dollars up for...

An enhanced stakes schedule at Del Mar, featuring 34 major races with more than half of them boosted above their 2021 purse numbers resulting in a record gross value of $8,275,000, has been announced for its 31-day stand. Besides the major stakes, there also will be increases from $80,000 to $100,000 for all five of its overnight stakes. Major stakes purse raises will be in effect ranging from $25,000 to $100,000, notably including amplifications to a pair of Grade I offerings--the Bing Crosby S. on Saturday, July 30 climbing from...

A total of 38 Thoroughbred stakes races offering more than $4.6 million in purses will be featured during the 2022 racing season at Horseshoe Indianapolis. The season runs Apr. 19 through Nov. 23 and is highlighted by the 28th running of the GIII Indiana Derby Saturday, July 9. That card alone offers $1.1 million in stakes purses and will also feature the GIII Indiana Oaks. Horseshoe Indianapolis will also feature the third Indiana Champions Day Saturday, Oct. 29. The event will showcase 10 stakes combined by Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse...

The stakes schedule for the 44-day Belmont Park spring/summer meet, which will feature 59 stakes races worth $16.95 million in total purses, was announced by NYRA Friday. The meet will open on Thursday, April 28 and continue through Sunday, July 10. It will offer 12 Grade I contests and seven races with purses of $700,000 or higher, with four of those contests coming during the three-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival from Thursday, June 9 through Saturday, June 11. Tickets for the 2022 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival will go on sale...

Led by the $1-million TVG.com GI Haskell S., Monmouth Park is set to offer $8.135 million in stakes races when the track kicks off its 77th season Saturday, May 7. This year's race meet, which runs through Sept. 17, will feature 50 total stakes, 10 graded events, and nine stakes restricted to New Jersey-bred horses. Several stakes will see purse boosts in 2022, including the GI United Nations, which goes from $500,000 to $600,000 and is now double its purse from just two years ago; the GIII Monmouth Cup going...

Officials at the New York Racing Association (NYRA) have released the stakes schedule for the Aqueduct spring meet Mar. 31 through Apr. 24, featuring 13 added-money events worth at least $2.7 million. The marquee day of the meet takes place Saturday, Apr. 9, highlighted by the $750,000 GII Wood Memorial S., a final prep for the GI Kentucky Derby that offers a total of 170 qualifying points (100-40-20-10) towards a start in the 'Run for the Roses.' Should a Grade I or Group 1 winner be declared an official starter...

A total of 10 stakes races will be offered at the 25-day fall meet at Golden Gate Fields which begins Oct. 22 and runs through Dec. 12. The stakes action kicks off Oct. 30 with the Pike Place Dancer S. for 2-year-old turf fillies followed by the $75,000 El Dorado Shooter S. Oct. 31. The El Dorado Shooter is one of two stakes at the fall meet restricted solely for California-bred or sired runners. The other, the $75,000 Bear Fan S., is slated for Dec. 11.  Both California-bred stakes will...

For its 150th anniversary racing season, Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots will boast 59 stakes worth a combined $7.795 million--up more than $600,000 from last season--during its 80-day, 2021-22 Thoroughbred meet, which is set to begin Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 25. "Fair Grounds Race Track is embedded in the history of New Orleans," said Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots president Doug Shipley. "We have always been very proud to be part of such a great city and this year marks the 150th anniversary of our inaugural season. We...

Santa Anita's Winter/Spring Meet, which opens Sunday, Dec. 26, will be highlighted by 10 Grade I stakes among the 59 graded races on tap for the season. Three Grade I events will be featured on opening day: the Runhappy Malibu S., the La Brea S., and the American Oaks. The $750,000 GI Santa Anita Derby will be held Apr. 9. A total of 94 stakes will be offered throughout the season, which ends June 19. "We have added a significant amount of money to our stakes program along with some...

Delta Downs Racetrack Casino & Hotel will offer 26 stakes races during an 84-day season that runs from Oct. 13 through Mar. 5. The stakes schedule includes $2.275 million in total purse money. The richest race day of the season will happen on Saturday, Feb. 5 when Delta Downs hosts another edition of Louisiana Premier Night, which will offer a total of $895,000 in purse money for Louisiana-bred horses. The highlight of the evening will come in the $150,000 Louisiana Premier Night Championship for older horses. After Delta Downs' opening...

Churchill Downs will feature 22 black-type races worth $7.01 million during the upcoming September and Fall Meets, the storied track announced Friday. With a new $10-million turf course currently being installed, racing will be exclusively on the main track until the Spring Meet. The September Meet, to be held Sept. 16-Oct. 3, will have 11 stakes worth a total of $3.26 million, while the Fall Meet will take place Oct. 31-Nov. 28 and will feature another 11 stakes totaling $3.75 million. The highlight of the second half of the year...