stakes schedule

Highlighted by the 155th GI Travers S. Aug. 24 and the GI Whitney S. Aug. 3, the 40-day Saratoga meet features 19 Grade I races as part of 71 stakes worth $20.75 million in total purses, the New York Racing Association said concerning the release of the schedule on Friday. Following the four-day opening week, which starts on Thursday July 11, racing will be conducted five days a week, Wednesdays through Sundays, apart from closing week, when the 2024 summer meet will conclude on Monday, Sept. 2. Saratoga Live, the...

The $200,000 Illinois Derby will return for Hawthorne's spring/summer Thoroughbred meet, which begins Saturday, Mar. 23. The racing season will extend six weeks longer in comparison to the 2023 year as racing concludes Sunday, Oct. 23. The Illinois Derby, scheduled for Sunday, Apr. 21, will serve as an official prep for this year's GI Preakness S. Hawthorne Race Course will pay for the Illinois Derby winner's entry fee into the Preakness if they choose to run. The Illinois Derby, previously a Grade III, was most recently contested in 2017. "We...

Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie will begin the 2024 Thoroughbred Racing Season on Thursday, Apr. 18 and conclude on Sunday, July 14. The season will encompass 41 race days, featuring 21 stakes worth a total of $2.8 million. The richest day of the meet, Lone Star Million Day, will take place on Memorial Day, Monday, May 27 with over $1.2 million in purses. Six stakes have been scheduled, including the GIII $400,000 Steve Sexton Mile for 3-year-olds and up and the 1 1/16-miles $300,000 Texas Derby. The full 2024...

Following the approval of the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC), the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) has added a Thursday, Feb. 29 card to the winter meet at Aqueduct Racetrack, the organization said in a release Wednesday. NYRA, with the support of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (NYTHA) and the New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc. (NYTB), requested to add the additional card following the cancellation of racing Jan. 20-21 at the Big A due to arctic temperatures. The schedule is currently being conducted Friday-Sunday. Aqueduct will host...

The stakes schedule for the 2024 Belmont at the Big A spring/summer meet, which will open Thursday, May 2, will include 32 stakes worth more than $6.6 million in total purses, the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) announced Tuesday. As announced in December, the ongoing construction of a new and re-imagined Belmont Park will require significant adjustments to the customary NYRA schedule. Most notably, the 2024 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival will be held at Saratoga Race Course from June 6-9. In addition, the spring/summer and fall meets traditionally held...

Highlighted by the 156th edition of the GI Belmont S. on Saturday, June 8, the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) has revealed the stakes schedule for the 2024 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, which will be held at Saratoga Race Course from Thursday, June 6 through Sunday, June 9. The 2024 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival will include 23 stakes races with purses totaling $10.1 million, the highest purse levels and number of stakes offered since the launch of the multi-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival in 2014. NYRA has increased the...

The Grade II, $750,000 Wood Memorial Presented by Resorts World Casino is the richest of 12 added-money events scheduled worth a combined $2.675 million for the Aqueduct spring meeting, to be held Apr. 4 through Apr. 28. NYRA has increased the purse of six stakes to be contested during the Aqueduct spring meet. Four listed events have received a $50,000 boost, including the Top Flight S., Danger's Hour S., Plenty of Grace S. and Memories of Silver S. The GIII Distaff H. and the Woodhaven S. have each been increased...

The New York Racing Association released the stakes schedule for the 2024 winter meet at Aqueduct Racetrack, the organization said in a release Friday. The 47-day Big A winter meet, which will feature 26 stakes races worth $3.5 million in purses, begins Monday, Jan. 1 and runs through Saturday, Mar. 30. Live racing will be conducted Thursday-Sunday for the first three weeks of January and Friday-Sunday from Jan. 26 through the first week of March. Aqueduct will host a Presidents' Day card on Monday, Feb. 19. Four-day race weeks resume...

Highlighted by a Winter Carnival program featuring the GIII Barbara Fritchie S. and GIII General George S., as well as the start of Maryland's series for 3-year-olds leading up to the 149th GI Preakness S., Laurel Park will offer 17 stakes worth $1.8 million in purses during its 2024 winter meet. The 38-day winter meet begins Friday, Jan. 5, running Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through Saturday, Mar. 30. Daily post time is 12:25 p.m. There will be no live racing Easter Sunday, Mar. 31. Stakes action kicks off Jan. 20...

Santa Anita Park's 19-day Autumn Meet will open Friday, Sept. 29 and will feature the 40th Breeders' Cup World Championships Nov. 3-4. Breeders' Cup preps will dominate the first two weekends of racing as a total of 31 graded stakes will be run throughout the meet. Closing day will be Sunday, Nov. 5. In addition to hosting the two-day Breeders' Cup World Championships for a record 11th time, Santa Anita will hold 42 stakes during the Autumn Meet, including 15 Grade Is and four listed stakes restricted to California-bred or...

The stakes schedule for the Keeneland Fall Meeting was released Wednesday, featuring 22 events worth a record $9.05 million in prize money. The richest event is the $1-million GI Coolmore Turf Mile, while the purse for the GI Darley Alcibiades S. has been increased by $100,000 to $600,000. The Franklin S., raised to Grade II status for this running, will receive a $50,000 boost to $350,000. Of the 22 added-money events, 12 are slated for the turf and 10 on the dirt, with six programs offering multiple stakes. The Kentucky...

The Belmont at the Big A Fall Meet will offer 40 added-money events worth nearly $8.8 million, officials from the New York Racing Association announced Saturday. Due to ongoing capital improvements at Belmont Park, the fall meeting will be staged for the second straight season at Aqueduct from Thursday, Sept. 14 through Sunday, Oct. 29, and will feature three Grade I events and a half-dozen 'Win and You're In' qualifiers in a variety of Breeders' Cup divisions. The GIII Fasig-Tipton Jockey Club Oaks over 11 furlongs on turf, the final...