The New York Racing Association, Inc. announced several purse increases which will take effect beginning Oct. 18 and continuing through the remainder of the Belmont Park fall meet.
Among purse increases: open maiden special weights will increase from $63,000 to $80,000 and New York-bred maiden special weights will rise from $52,000 to $70,000. Additionally,
purses for $25,000 open claiming company will see a $4,000 increase to $50,000, while the $40,000 maiden-claiming condition will now offer a purse of $43,000. For the complete list, click here.
“The myriad impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic–including the suspension of live racing and the closure of casinos across New York–forced NYRA to make significant adjustments to the purse structure to ensure operational continuity throughout the spring, summer and early part of the fall,” said NYRA Senior Vice President of Racing Operations Martin Panza. “NYRA made those strategic decisions early in the crisis so that we could restore our purses to near pre-pandemic levels as soon as possible to support New York’s horsemen and the 19,000 jobs connected to thoroughbred racing in New York.”
Panza continued, “Thanks to the incredibly strong wagering seen at Saratoga and into Belmont fall, coupled with the resumption of VLT revenues in early September, we are at this point even faster than expected. NYRA would like to thank Joe Appelbaum and the membership of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association for their hard work and collaboration in securing these increases.”
In addition to the purse increases, a retroactive purse payment for the first 16 days of the 27-day Belmont fall meet will be issued for 50% of the proposed purse increase. The retroactive adjustments are applicable to qualifying races starting on Sept. 18.
Following the Mar. 19 suspension of live racing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Belmont Park re-opened without spectators in attendance June 3 for an abbreviated 25-day spring/summer meet. Despite running 23 fewer days than in 2019, a 48% decrease, all sources handle during the spring/summer meet totaled $386,654,955. The spring/summer meet generated $15,466,198 in average daily handle from all sources, a 42% increase over the 2019 spring/summer meet.
All-sources handle for the 2020 Saratoga summer meet totaled $702,535,468 compared to $705,343,949 wagered from all sources on Saratoga in 2019.
For more additional information, please visit www.NYRA.com.
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