stakes schedule | Horse Racing Free Tips

Stakes Schedule for Belmont at the Big A Spring/Summer Meet Set

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 at Belmont will take place at Aqueduct Racetrack in 2024.

Differences between the circumference of Belmont Park and Aqueduct Racetrack will require slight distance changes to a number of races to be contested during the Belmont at the Big A spring/summer meet.

On the turf, five races previously run at seven-furlongs [Elusive Quality, Soaring Softly, Paradise Creek, NYSSS Cupecoy's Joy, NYSSS Spectacular Bid] will be contested at six-furlongs. In addition, both the GI Belmont Derby Invitational and GI Fasig-Tipton Belmont Oaks Invitational will be contested at 1 3/16-miles on turf rather than the customary 1 1/4-miles. On the main track, the GII Brooklyn will be run at 11 furlongs rather than the traditional 12 furlongs.

A stakes-laden program on Saturday, July 6 will feature four graded events led by a pair of Grade Is on the turf in the $750,000 Belmont Derby Invitational for sophomores and the $500,000 Fasig-Tipton Belmont Oaks Invitational for sophomore fillies. These prestigious contests will be supported by the GII, $200,000 John A. Nerud for older horses sprinting seven furlongs and the GIII, $200,000 Dwyer for sophomores going one mile.

For the full Belmont at the Big A spring/summer meet stakes schedule, visit https://nyra.com/spring-summer.

The post Stakes Schedule for Belmont at the Big A Spring/Summer Meet Set appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Belmont Stakes Racing Festival to Feature 23 Stakes Worth $10.1 Million

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 purse of the Belmont S. from $1.5 million to $2 million in 2024, which is the first significant increase since 2014. The 2024 Belmont Stakes will be contested at 1 1/4 miles in 2024 rather than the traditional 1 1/2 miles due to the configuration of Saratoga's main track.

In addition, NYRA has increased the purse of the GI Resorts World Casino Manhattan from $750,000 to $1 million and boosted the GI New York from $600,000 to $750,000. As a result, the total purses offered at the 2024 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival will exceed $10 million for the first time.

NYRA has also boosted the purse of the GIII Poker from $200,000 to $350,000 and added $100,000 to the purses of the GI Woody Stephens, the GI Jaipur and the GII True North. Accordingly, the Woody Stephens and Jaipur will offer a purse of $500,000, with the True North rising to $350,000.

Differences between the circumference of Saratoga Race Course and Belmont Park will require slight distance adjustments to a number of races scheduled for the 2024 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival. On the main track, four races previously run at a one-turn 1 1/16 miles on the main track (Acorn, Ogden Phipps, Commentator and Critical Eye) will be run at 1 1/8 miles around two turns.

On the turf, the Manhattan and New York will be contested at 1 3/16 miles rather than the customary 10 furlongs. The Jaipur and $200,000 GII Intercontinental, which saw un upgrade from Grade III status last year, will each be run at 5 1/2 furlongs rather than the customary six furlongs.

The Festival opens with four stakes on Thursday, June 6 led by the $250,000 GII Belmont Gold Cup for older horses traveling two miles on the turf. The June 6 program will include the Listed $150,000 Jersey Girl for sophomore fillies sprinting six furlongs; the Listed $150,000 Tremont for juveniles sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs and the $150,000 Astoria at 5 1/2 furlongs for juvenile fillies.

Friday, June 7 will feature three Grade I events among four stakes topped by the New York for fillies and mares 4-years-old and up; the $500,000 Acorn for sophomore fillies and the $500,000 Just a Game at one mile on the turf for fillies and mares 4-years-old and up. The GII Intercontinental for older fillies and mares rounds out the stakes action on the second day of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival.

A blockbuster Belmont Stakes Day at Saratoga awaits on Saturday, June 8 with a program to include six Grade I events among nine stakes races in total, culminating with the Belmont S. and featuring three Breeders' Cup “Win And You're In” qualifiers: the $1-million GI Metropolitan H. for 3-year-olds and up going one mile out of the Wilson Chute [Dirt Mile]; the $500,000 GI Ogden Phipps for older fillies and mares [Distaff]; and the $500,000 GI Jaipur for 3-year-olds and up [Turf Sprint]. In addition, the prestigious and historic Grade I races on Belmont Stakes Day will include the $1-million Resorts World Casino Manhattan for older horses, and the seven-furlong $500,000 Woody Stephens for sophomores.

Belmont Stakes Day at Saratoga will be bolstered by the GII True North for older horses sprinting 6 1/2 furlongs; the GIII Poker for older horses at one mile on the turf and the $350,000 GII Suburban for older horses at 10 furlongs.

The 2024 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga will conclude on Sunday, June 9 when New York-breds take center stage for a special New York Showcase Day featuring six stakes exclusively for New York-breds.

For the complete Belmont Stakes Racing Festival stakes schedule, visit BelmontStakes.com/schedule.

The post Belmont Stakes Racing Festival to Feature 23 Stakes Worth $10.1 Million appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Wood Memorial Highlights Aqueduct Spring Stakes Schedule

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 by $25,000, raising the purse of the Distaff to $175,000 and the Woodhaven to $125,000.

Stakes action kicks off Saturday, Apr. 6, with the running of the Wood, a nine-furlong contest that serves as the final local prep for the GI Kentucky Derby four weeks later. As part of the Road to the Kentucky Derby, the Wood offers 200 qualifying points on a scale of 100-50-25-15-10. The fillies' counterpart, the $200,000 GII Gazelle S., also takes place Apr. 6, with 200 Kentucky Oaks points up for grabs on the same scale. Wood Memorial day will also feature the $250,000 GII Carter H., the Distaff H. and the $175,000 Listed Bay Shore S.

The Listed Top Flight S. is scheduled for Saturday, Apr. 13, while New York-bred 3-year-old males and fillies take center stage the following afternoon in the Times Square S. and Park Avenue S., both part of the New York Stallion Stakes Series.

Turf stakes return the weekend of Apr. 20 and 21, with the running of the Danger's Hour and the Plenty of Grace. Sophomore turf males and fillies go postward in the Woodhaven on Apr. 27 and Memories of Silver Apr. 28, respectively.

Click here for the schedule.

The post Wood Memorial Highlights Aqueduct Spring Stakes Schedule appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Aqueduct Winter Stakes Schedule Out

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 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 GIII Toboggan and GIII Tom Fool H. along with three Listed stakes now worth $150,000, including the Heavenly Prize, Stymie and Excelsior.

The centerpiece of the March stakes calendar is the one-mile Grade III, $300,000 Gotham March 2, providing 50-25-15-10-5 Kentucky Derby qualifying points. The Gotham Day card includes the Listed one-mile $200,000 Busher for 3-year-old fillies, offering 50-25-15-10-5 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points.

Click here for a complete stakes list.

The post Aqueduct Winter Stakes Schedule Out appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post