The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) has announced the stakes schedule for the 2024 winter meet at Aqueduct Racetrack.
The 47-day Big A winter meet, which will feature 26 stakes races worth $3.5 million in purses, begins Monday, January 1 and runs through Saturday, March 30. Live racing will be conducted Thursday-Sunday for the first three weeks of January and Friday-Sunday from January 26 through the first week of March. Aqueduct will host a Presidents' Day card on Monday, February 19. Four-day race weeks resume on March 7.
A total of six stakes received a purse increase at the winter meet, topped by the Listed $150,000 Interborough, which saw it's purse improved by $50,000. Five other featured events received an increment of $25,000 in the Grade 3, $175,000 Toboggan and Grade 3, $175,000 Tom Fool Handicap along with three Listed stakes now worth $150,000, including the Heavenly Prize, Stymie, and Excelsior.
The Aqueduct winter meet stakes action kicks off on Saturday, January 6, with a pair of $150,000 stakes events, including the nine-furlong Ladies for older fillies and mares and the one-mile Jerome, which will be the first of three Kentucky Derby prep races at the meet. The Jerome will offer 10-5-3-2-1 qualifying points to the top-five finishers.
The nine-furlong $100,000 Busanda for sophomore fillies on January 13 will provide 20-10-6-4-2 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points to the top-five finishers. The following week will offer the Listed $150,000 Interborough on January 20 as older fillies and mares sprint seven furlongs.
Graded action for the winter meet kicks off on February 3 with the Grade 3, $250,000 Withers at nine-furlongs offering 20-10-6-4-2 Kentucky Derby qualifying points and the Grade 3, $175,000 Toboggan, a seven-furlong sprint for older horses. On February 10, the Listed $150,000 Heavenly Prize will see a field of older fillies and mares travel a one-turn mile.
The centerpiece of the March stakes calendar is the one-mile Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham on March 2, providing 50-25-15-10-5 Kentucky Derby qualifying points. The Gotham Day card includes the Grade 3, $175,000 Tom Fool Handicap for 4-year-olds and up going six furlongs, the Listed $150,000 Stymie at one mile for older horses, and the Listed one-mile $200,000 Busher for 3-year-old fillies, offering 50-25-15-10-5 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points.
Closing Weekend of the winter meet will feature the Listed nine-furlong $150,000 Excelsior for older horses on Saturday, March 30.
For the complete winter meet stakes schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/stakes-schedule/.
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