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Jockey Club Gold Cup, Flower Bowl Both Moved To Saratoga Meet

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) today announced the stakes schedule for the 40-day summer meet at historic Saratoga Race Course, which will feature 76 stakes worth $21.5 million in total purses. The summer meet will open on Thursday, July 15, and conclude on Monday, Sept. 6.

Earlier this month, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that live sports and entertainment venues with a minimum reserved seating capacity of 10,000 will be permitted to re-open to a limited number of spectators beginning on Feb. 23 with approval from the New York State Department of Health. All attendees must present a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours of the event and adhere to health and safety requirements, including mandatory facial coverings and social distancing.

NYRA will continue to closely monitor New York State-issued regulations to determine how they impact Saratoga Race Course. Additional details on fan attendance and tickets for the 2021 summer meet will be provided as information becomes available.

The 2021 summer meet, which will offer at least one stakes race every live racing day, will be highlighted by the 152nd renewal of the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers on Aug. 28 and the Grade 1, $1 million Whitney on Aug. 7, as the anchors of two of the most prestigious racing days in North America.

The Saratoga meet will also include the Grade 1, $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup and the Grade 1, $600,000 Flower Bowl, both previously run during the fall meet at Belmont Park.

Following the four-day opening weekend, racing will be conducted five days a week, Wednesdays through Sundays, with the exception of the final week, when the meet will conclude on Labor Day.

Whitney Day will feature three Grade 1 events, led by the Whitney at 1 1/8 miles offering an automatic berth to the Breeders' Cup Classic on Nov. 6 at Del Mar.

Completing the trio of Grade 1s on Whitney Day will be the $500,000 Longines Test for sophomore fillies and the $1 million Saratoga Derby Invitational, the second jewel of the Turf Triple series for sophomore males in its first running with Grade 1 status. Whitney Day will also include the Grade 2, $250,000 Glens Falls for older fillies and mares on turf, and the $120,000 Fasig-Tipton Lure.

Whitney weekend kicks off Aug. 6, with the Grade 2, $200,000 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame for sophomore turf milers; the Grade 3, $200,000 Troy, presented by Horse Racing Ireland, for 4-year-olds and up going 5 ½ furlongs on the turf; and the $120,000 Alydar at nine furlongs for older horses.

Whitney weekend concludes on Aug. 8, with three stakes highlighted by the upgraded Grade 3, $700,000 Saratoga Oaks Invitational, the second leg of the Turf Triple series for sophomore fillies. The August 8 card will also include the Grade 2, $200,000 Adirondack, a 6 1/2-furlong sprint for juvenile fillies, and the $120,000 Fasig-Tipton De La Rose at one mile on turf for older fillies and mares.

New York-breds will take center stage on Friday, Aug. 27, for New York Showcase Day, featuring six stakes for state-breds worth a combined $1.15 million. The lucrative card is headlined by the $250,000 Albany, a nine-furlong test for sophomores. Also featured are a trio of $200,000 stakes in the Fleet Indian for sophomore fillies; the Funny Cide, presented by Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital, for juvenile sprinters; and the Seeking the Ante for juvenile filly sprinters. Rounding out a special Empire State-bred slate are a pair of $150,000 turf events with the West Point Handicap presented by Trustco Bank for 3-year-olds and up and the Yaddo for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up.

The 152nd edition of the Travers is the centerpiece of a blockbuster day of racing on Saturday, Aug. 28. The 2021 Travers Day card will include seven stakes, including six Grade 1 events, offering $4.6 million in total purse money with automatic berths in the Breeders' Cup to the winner of the Grade 1, $750,000 Sword Dancer [Turf], the Grade 1, $600,000 Personal Ensign [Distaff], and the Grade 1, $500,000 Ballerina [Filly & Mare Sprint].

In addition, the Travers Day card will also include the Grade 1, $600,000 Forego, a seven-furlong sprint for 4-year-olds and upward, and the Grade 1, $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial for 3-year-olds going seven furlongs. Rounding out the signature day at the Spa is the Grade 2, $400,000 Ballston Spa for turf fillies and mares.

The traditional local prep for the Travers, the Grade 2, $600,000 Jim Dandy, will be held on Saturday, July 31. It will be joined by the Grade 1, $350,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap, a six-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds and up, and the Grade 2, $250,000 Bowling Green at 1 3/8 miles on the turf. Closing out Jim Dandy weekend on Aug. 1 is the Grade 2, $200,000 Amsterdam for 3-year-olds at 6 ½ furlongs.

Additional upgraded races for the Saratoga summer meet include the previously listed Grade 3, $200,000 Caress, a 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint for older fillies and mares slated for Saturday, July 24, in addition to 20 stakes receiving a $20,000 boost to offer a $120,000 purse.

Opening Day, Thursday, July 15, will begin with a pair of graded stakes: the Grade 3, $150,000 Schuylerville for 2-year-old fillies and the Grade 3, $120,000 Quick Call for 3-year-olds going 5 ½ furlongs on the grass.

Saratoga's first Grade 1 of 2021 is the $500,000 Diana for turf fillies and mares on Saturday, July 17. The following Saturday, July 24, will see the Grade 1, $500,000 Coaching Club American Oaks take center stage.

Among the other 20 Grade 1 races at the Spa will be the $150,000 A.P. Smithwick Memorial on July 29, and the $150,000 New York Turf Writers Cup on Aug. 26 for steeplechasers; the $600,000 Alabama on Saturday, Aug. 21; and the $500,000 Fourstardave Handicap, a Breeders' Cup qualifier for the Mile, on Saturday, Aug. 14, to be held on the same card as the Grade 2, $200,000 Saratoga Special presented by Miller Lite.

Closing Weekend of the Saratoga meet will feature a pair of Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Win and You're In events previously held in the fall at Belmont Park with the $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup [Classic] at 10 furlongs for 3-year-olds and up, and the $600,000 Flower Bowl [Filly and Mare Turf], an 11-furlong turf test for older fillies and mares, to anchor a Saturday, Sept. 4 card that also includes the Grade 2, $250,000 Prioress and the Grade 3, $300,000 Saranac.

To accommodate the Jockey Club Gold Cup and Flower Bowl, the Grade 1, $750,000 Woodward and the Grade 3, $200,000 Fasig-Tipton Waya will move from Saratoga to the Belmont fall meet.

On Sept. 5, 2-year-old fillies will sprint seven furlongs in the Grade 1, $300,000 Spinaway.

Closing Day on Monday, Sept. 6, will feature the Grade 2, $200,000 Bernard Baruch Handicap as well as the prestigious Grade 1, $300,000 Hopeful for 2-year-olds going seven furlongs to conclude the 153rd Saratoga meeting.

Beginning in 2021, the use of Furosemide (Lasix) is prohibited within 48 hours of all stakes races conducted at NYRA tracks.

To view the complete stakes schedule for the 2021 summer meet, visit NYRA.com/stakes.

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NYRA Releases Belmont’s Spring/Summer Stakes Schedule Worth $16.95 Million

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) today announced the stakes schedule for the 48-day Belmont Park spring/summer meet, which will feature 59 total stakes races worth $16.95 million in total purses. The spring/summer meet will open on Thursday, April 22 and continue through Sunday, July 11.

On February 10, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that live sports and entertainment venues will be permitted to re-open to a limited number of spectators beginning on February 23. In order for qualifying venues to re-open, those sites must gain New York State Department of Health approval and limit the number of spectators to 10 percent of seated capacity. All attendees must present a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours of the event and adhere to health and safety requirements, including mandatory facial coverings and social distancing.

NYRA is reviewing the newly announced guidelines to determine how they apply to Aqueduct Racetrack, where the first floor is currently the site of a New York State COVID-19 vaccination center, and to Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course.

The Belmont spring/summer meet will offer 11 Grade 1 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 3 through Saturday, June 5. The festival will encompass 17 total stakes, including eight Grade 1s on Belmont Stakes Day, capped by the $1.5 million “Test of the Champion” for 3-year-olds in the 1 ½-mile final leg of the Triple Crown.

Tickets for the 2021 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival are not yet on sale to the public. Additional information and the timing of the general on-sale will be released in the coming weeks.

In addition to the 153rd running of the Belmont Stakes on June 5, that day's card will include three Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” qualifiers: the one-mile Grade 1, $1 million Metropolitan for 4-year-olds and up [Dirt Mile]; the Grade 1, $500,000 Ogden Phipps for older fillies and mares going 1 1/16 miles on the main track [Distaff]; and the Grade 1, $400,000 Jaipur for 3-year-olds and up going six furlongs on turf [Turf Sprint].

The blockbuster Belmont Stakes Day card will also feature the Grade 1, $750,000 Manhattan for 4-year-olds and up going 1 ¼ miles on turf; the Grade 1, $500,000 Acorn for 3-year-old fillies going one mile; the Grade 1, $500,000 Longines Just a Game for fillies and mares 4-years-old and up at one mile on the turf; the Grade 1, $400,000 Woody Stephens in a seven-furlong sprint over Big Sandy for 3-year-olds; and the Grade 2, $400,000 Brooklyn, a 1 ½-mile test for 4-year-olds and up.

The Belmont Stakes Racing Festival opens with three stakes races on Thursday, June 3, including a pair of Grade 3 turf events worth $200,000 in the Intercontinental for older fillies and mares and the Wonder Again for 3-year-old fillies. Rounding out the June 3 card is the $150,000 Astoria, a 5 1/2-furlong main-track sprint for juvenile fillies.

On June 4, the Grade 2, $750,000 New York, a 10-furlong turf test for older fillies and mares will headline a day featuring four graded stakes. This year's renewal of the New York will offer a bonus to any previous winner of the Belmont Oaks, Saratoga Oaks or Jockey Club Oaks who wins the 2021 edition of the New York, with the winning owner to receive $315,000 while the winning trainer would earn an additional $35,000.

Also featured on the June 4 card are the Grade 2, $400,000 Belmont Gold Cup, the Grade 2, $300,000 True North; the Grade 3, $300,000 Bed o' Roses; and the $150,000 Tremont.

The Stars and Stripes Racing Festival returns on Saturday, July 10 and features a trio of graded stakes headlined by the opening legs of NYRA's Turf Triple Series. Launched in 2019, the Turf Triple returns with a pair of races earning Grade 1 status, featuring the $1 million Belmont Derby Invitational for sophomores going 1 ¼ miles and the $700,000 Belmont Oaks Invitational for 3-year-old fillies over the same distance.

Implemented by NYRA as the turf equivalent of the Triple Crown series, with all the legs contested at Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course, the Belmont Derby Invitational will again launch the male division of the Turf Triple series that encompasses the Saratoga Derby this summer and the Jockey Club Derby during the Belmont fall meet.

The Belmont Oaks Invitational commences the female division of the Turf Triple Series, which will be followed by the Saratoga Oaks this summer and conclude with the Jockey Club Oaks during the fall.

Also featuring on the Stars and Stripes card is the Grade 3, $150,000 Victory Ride, a 6 1/2-furlong sprint for sophomore fillies.

Man o' War Day on May 8 boasts five graded stakes led by the Grade 1, $700,000 Man o' War at 1 3/8-miles on the turf for 4-year-olds and upward and bolstered by the Grade 3, $200,000 Peter Pan, the local prep for the Belmont Stakes; the Grade 3, $150,000 Beaugay, the Grade 3, $150,000 Vagrancy, and the Grade 3, $150,000 Runhappy.

Independence Day weekend from Saturday July 3 through Monday, July 5 offers six stakes races including a pair of Breeders' Cup Win and You're In qualifiers led by the Grade 2, $400,000 Suburban [Classic] at 10 furlongs for 4-year-olds and up on July 3 and the Grade 2, $250,000 John A. Nerud [Sprint], which will see 4-year-olds and up contest at seven furlongs on July 4.

The holiday weekend kicks off July 3 with the $100,000 Perfect Sting and continues on July 4 with $100,000 Manila, while the Grade 3, $250,000 Dwyer anchors a Monday, July 5 card that also offers the $150,000 Grand Couturier.

The spotlight will shine on New York-breds on Monday, May 31, as part of New York Breeders' Showcase Day. The lucrative Memorial Day card features six stakes for horses bred in the Empire State led by the $200,000 Commentator at a mile for 3-year-olds and up and the $200,000 Critical Eye at the same distance for fillies and mares, 3-years-old and upward. A quartet of $125,000 stakes will round out the day, including the Kingston, Mount Vernon, Mike Lee and Bouwerie.

Friday, April 23 will kick off the meet's stakes action with the $100,000 Affirmed Success, a six-furlong sprint for New York-breds 4-years-old and up. The graded stakes action begins on Saturday, May 1 with the Grade 2, $200,000 Sheepshead Bay, the Grade 3, $200,000 Westchester and the Grade 2, $200,000 Fort Marcy.

Closing Day on Sunday, July 11 will drop the curtain down on the meet with the $150,000 River Memories before the racing action moves to Saratoga for its 40-day meet beginning Thursday, July 15.

Follow this link for the full 2021 Belmont Park spring/summer stakes schedule.

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All NYRA Stakes Races To Be Run Without Lasix In 2021

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) today announced that, in accordance with its commitment to eliminate race day medication, the use of Furosemide (Lasix) will be prohibited within 48 hours of all stakes races conducted at NYRA tracks beginning Jan. 1, 2021.

In April of 2019, NYRA led the formation of a coalition of leading racing organizations founded to address race day medication in a uniform and consistent way throughout the sport. The initiative commenced on Jan. 1, 2020, with NYRA prohibiting Lasix in all 2-year-old races at the three NYRA tracks–Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course. Beginning on Jan. 1, 2021, the same prohibition will extend to all horses participating in any NYRA stakes, including New York-bred and New York Stallion Stakes Series [NYSSS] races.

“NYRA is pleased to honor the commitment we made to our coalition partners by greatly expanding the ban on race day medication to all stakes races in 2021,” said Martin Panza, NYRA SVP of Racing Operations. “We look forward to working with racetracks around the country who share our desire to achieve uniform and consistent rules that advance safety and integrity. As evidenced by the passage of The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act, there is significant appetite for positive change that will benefit the sport.”

NYRA conducted a total of 127 stakes races in 2020, with the exception of New York-bred and NYSSS races, accounting for 25 percent of all stakes run in the United States. 95 of those stakes were of the graded variety, representing 25 percent of all graded stakes run in the United States. NYRA hosted 33 Grade 1 stakes in 2020, or 35 percent of all G1 races run in the United States. Due to the myriad impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the reorganization of the stakes calendar, 36 stakes races scheduled for 2020 were not run, with 17 of them graded.

NYRA's 2021 stakes program kicks off on New Year's Day at Aqueduct with the $150,000 Jerome, a one-turn mile for sophomores offering 10-4-2-1 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top-four finishers.

The New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) rules prohibit the use of Lasix, which is used to treat exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH) in racehorses, 48 hours before the scheduled post time of the race in which the horse is to compete – unless a waiver is obtained for the horse to race with the medication. This rule remains in effect and no waivers will be granted for 2-year-olds or horses entered in stakes.

Current NYSGC rules will allow for horses previously entered in stakes who are dropping down to non-stakes competition to apply for a waiver seeking permission from the NYSGC to utilize Lasix after documenting EIPH.

NYRA is a founding member of the Thoroughbred Safety Coalition, a group of the nation's leading racing organizations working collaboratively to advance safety reforms across the sport. For additional information on the Thoroughbred Safety Coalition, visit thoroughbredsafetycoalition.com.

The 2020-21 winter meet at Aqueduct Racetrack resumes on Thursday, December 31. The current NYRA stakes schedule, which is updated through April 18, can be viewed at https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/stakes-schedule.

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Gulfstream’s 2020-2021 Championship Meet Features $13.06 Million Stakes Schedule

The 2020-2021 Championship Meet at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla. will get under way Wednesday for the first of 84 days of Thoroughbred racing contested by the most popular and accomplished horses, trainers and jockeys in the country.

Racing will be conducted primarily on a Wednesday-Sunday schedule with a first-race post time set at 12:35 p.m. through March 27. Under COVID-19 pandemic protocols, racing will be conducted without spectators. Gulfstream's races will be streamed live at 1/STBet.com, Xpressbet.com; and gulfstreampark.com.

The 2020-2021 Championship Meet will offer a stakes schedule of 75 stakes, 36 graded, worth $13.06 million in purses.

The $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) and the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1) will be run Jan. 23, co-headlining a program with seven graded stakes. The Pegasus World Cup, won by Mucho Gusto last year, has been designated as a 'Win and In' race for the $20 million Saudi Cup in Riyadh Feb. 20. The Pegasus World Cup Turf will be a qualifier for the $1 million Middle Distance Turf Handicap on the Saudi Cup undercard.

The $800,000 Florida Derby (G1), which has produced the winners of 60 Triple Crown races, will headline a March 27 program that will offer 10 stakes, 6 graded, including the $250,000 Gulfstream Park Oaks. The 2020 Florida Derby was won by Tiz the Law, who went on to win the Belmont (G1). Swiss Skydiver, who captured the Gulfstream Park Oaks, went on to beat the boys in the Preakness Stakes (G1).

Gulfstream's program for 3-year-olds will kick off with the $100,000 Mucho Macho Man Dec. 12, followed by the $200,000 Holy Bull (G3), a 1 1/16-mile Florida Derby prep that will headline a Jan. 30 program with five graded stakes, including the $100,000 Swale (G3), a seven-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds. The $350,000 Fountain of Youth (G2), the 1 1/16-mile final prep for the Florida Derby, will be featured on a Feb. 27 program with nine graded stakes.

The Road to the Gulfstream Park Oaks will start with the $100,000 Forward Gal, a seven-furlong sprint for 3-year-old fillies on the Jan. 30 Holy Bull undercard. The $200,000 Davona Dale, the mile final prep for the Gulfstream Park Oaks, will be contested on the Feb. 27 Fountain of Youth undercard.

The $200,000 Fort Lauderdale (G2) kicks off Gulfstream's turf program Dec. 12 while offering an opportunity for Pegasus World Cup Turf invitational candidates to prep over the Gulfstream turf course. The $200,000 Mac Diarmida (G2), a 1 3/8-mile race for 4-year-olds and up, will be one of six graded turf stakes on the Fountain of Youth card. The $200,000 Pan American, a 1 ½-mile stakes for 4-year-olds and up, will top six turf stakes on the Florida Derby program.

The 2020-2021 stakes program will launch Saturday with the return of the Claiming Crown, a popular program for horses that have started for a claiming price at least once during the past two years. The $150,000 Jewel, a 1 1/8-mile stakes for 3-year-olds and up that have started for a claiming price of $35,000 or lower, is featured among nine Claiming Crown stakes. Jesus' Team, who finished third in the Preakness and second in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1), is expected to headline the field for the Jewel.

Irad Ortiz Jr. will be back to defend the riding titles he won in 2018-2019 and 2019-2020. Luis Saez, who finished second behind Ortiz by just one and two wins respectively, will seek to regain the title he won the previous two seasons. Hall of Famers John Velazquez, fresh off his Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) victory aboard Authentic, Javier Castellano, a five-time Championship Meet titlist; and Edgar Prado, who ranks eighth all-time with 7,089 wins, will head a jockey's colony that will include young guns Tyler Gaffalione, Jose Ortiz, and South Florida's year-round leader Edgard Zayas.

Todd Pletcher, who regained his training title last season, will seek his 17th Championship Meet title. Horsemen shipping in include Shug McGaughey, Bill Mott, Mike Maker, Mark Casse, Ken McPeek, Chad Brown and Christophe Clement. New stables at Gulfstream and its satellite training center Palm Meadows in Palm Beach include Brad Cox, Jack Sisterson, Brittany Russell, Jeremiah Englehart and Butch Reid.

“We're extremely optimistic for a fantastic Championship Meet,” said Mike Lakow, Vice President of Racing at Gulfstream. “The barns are full with many of the top trainers, including some wintering here for the first time. We're also happy with the way our turf course has thrived during the extreme rainy season here this fall.”

The 20-cent Rainbow 6, the innovative multi-race wager that has produced many live-changing payoffs over the years, will again be prominent on Gulfstream's wagering menu. The Rainbow 6, which will span the final six races each day, will be kicked off Wednesday with a $50,000 jackpot guarantee. Wednesday's Rainbow 6 sequence will span Races 5-10, including back-to-back optional claiming allowances in Races 8 and 9.

Shadwell Stable's Ashaar is scheduled to make his first start for Pletcher in Race 8, a six-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds and up. The 3-year-old son of Into Mischief hasn't seen action since finishing off the board in the Jan. 4 Mucho Macho Man at Gulfstream. Reeves Thoroughbred Racing's Ournationonparade, the only stakes winner in the field, will make his first start since finishing fifth in the Sept. 5 Smile Sprint (G3) at Gulfstream. Saez has been named to ride Ashaar, while Luca Panici is set to ride the Kathy Ritvo-trained Ournationonparade.

Tracy Farmer's Catch a Thrill, who has finished second in his three most recent starts, will be looking to break through with a win in Race 9, a five-furlong turf dash for fillies and mares. The Mark Casse-trained daughter of City Zip, who finished second in the Feb. 23 Melody of Colors at Gulfstream, will be ridden by Cristian Torres.

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