Preakness Day To Be Conducted Without Fans In Attendance

The Stronach Group and the Maryland Jockey Club, owners of the legendary Preakness Stakes (G1), announced today that Preakness 145 will proceed without fans in attendance on October 3rd at Pimlico Race Course.

“The Stronach Group and the Maryland Jockey Club have been working closely in consultation with local and state health and governmental authorities for the past several months to thoughtfully and safely plan for Preakness 145,” said Belinda Stronach, Chairman and President, The Stronach Group and 1/ST. “While we had hoped to be able to welcome fans as we have for the past 145 years, the health and safety of our guests, horsemen, riders, team members and the community at large is, and will always be, our top priority. Although Preakness 145 will look and feel much different from all those that have come before it, 1/ST RACING is committed to delivering a day of world-class Thoroughbred horse racing.”

Fans will be able to join the excitement of Preakness 145 live on NBC from 4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 3rd.

The Stronach Group and 1/ST have implemented industry-leading, rigorous safety and prevention measures for COVID-19. As such, only essential racing personnel and horsemen will be permitted on-site at Pimlico Race Course on race day. Preakness 145 will operate in full compliance with all state, county and local health department orders and will follow all current and recommended CDC precautions and safeguards to ensure the health and safety of the limited number of essential racing personnel and participants required.

Existing ticket holders that have already purchased tickets will have the option to either transfer their purchased tickets to next year's Preakness 146 or to apply for a full refund. Information on ticket transfer or refund options is available at www.preakness.com, via email at tickets@preakness.com or by calling 1-877-206-8042, Monday – Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. ET.

For the first time since its inception, Preakness will represent the third jewel of the coveted Triple Crown and will feature an all-stakes program with $3.35 million in purses, including the 96th running of the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (G2). Additionally, 2020 will mark the first time that the winner of the Preakness Stakes, or of any Triple Crown race, will qualify for the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) in November as part of the Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” Challenge Series.

Wagering on Preakness 145 can be enjoyed regardless of where fans are viewing the race day card with handicapping tools available on the 1/ST BET app. Part of the 1/ST TECHNOLOGY suite of handicapping and betting products, 1/ST BET is changing the game by delivering a user-friendly experience that suits everyone from the experienced horseplayer to the first-timer.

For more information about Preakness, please visit www.preakness.com or follow the excitement on social media @PreaknessStakes and #Preakness.

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Santa Anita Adding New Turf Chute, Will Be Able To Run New Distances During December Meet

In a move that will ensure the most expansive turf racing program in the Western U.S., Santa Anita Park is in the process of adding a brand new turf course chute, which will enable the track to offer fans and horsemen a wide array of turf sprints that heretofore had not been available.

Under the direction of track consultant Dennis Moore, the new chute, which will run parallel to the seven furlong main track chute, will cross the dirt oval and join up with the turf oval at approximately the five furlong pole and be available for usage beginning opening day of Santa Anita's traditional Winter/Spring Meeting on Dec. 26.

The new turf chute, which is 80 feet wide and approximately 800 feet long, will comfortably accommodate sprint races at distances of 6 ½, six, 5 ½ and five furlongs on “the flat,” while Santa Anita's traditional Camino Real Hillside Course will continue to be available to horses running distances of a mile and a quarter and up.

“Turf racing has always been popular and it's even more so now,” said Santa Anita's Aidan Butler, who serves as Executive Director of California Racing Operations for The Stronach Group. “This new turf chute gives our Racing Office great deal more programmability. By that I mean that we'll have significantly more options and the turf will now be more available to horses of various classifications.

“Safety is of course our absolute top priority and that's one of the most exciting aspects of this project. We're confident this is going to be well received by everyone, including our fans, who've grown to love the spectacle of watching horses run over the Santa Anita turf—there's nothing like it in North American racing.”

With good turf racing a huge priority, Santa Anita will now be in a position to offer a greater variety of turf events than ever before and it is expected these new turf sprints will provide players with consistently large fields and enticing gambling opportunities while enabling Moore's maintenance crews to better maintain the condition of the turf.

“With a longer, truer run into the far turn, horses tend to sort themselves out and you don't have so much wear and tear on the course as you do with a shorter run,” said Moore. “We got to work on this project on Aug. 17 and it's going very well. We're going to have a very smooth transition for horses running six and 6 ½ furlongs when they cross the main track. First of all, it's early in the race and they'll be running in a straight line. We're in the process of bringing in enough fill (dirt) to elevate the chute and get it pretty much on the same level as the main track crossing.”

Moore also noted that the new chute will be comprised of the same Bandera Bermuda hybrid turf that's currently utilized on the turf oval and hillside.

With the exception of a slight alteration to the outside rail which enabled the track to begin running five furlong turf sprints in September, 2018, this turf chute project represents the first significant alteration to Santa Anita's world famous Camino Real Course, which was unveiled on Dec. 26, 1953.

Live racing will return to Santa Anita on Saturday, September 19, opening day of the track's 18-day Autumn Meeting.

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Preakness Stakes To Offer Automatic Starting Position In Breeders’ Cup Classic

Officials of the Breeders' Cup and The Stronach Group today announced that the winner of the 145th Preakness Stakes (G1) for 3-year-olds on Oct. 3 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore will earn an automatic starting position into the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1). The announcement marks the first time that a Triple Crown race will be a part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series.

The Breeders' Cup Challenge is an international series of stakes races whose winners receive automatic starting positions and fees paid into corresponding races of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, scheduled to be held this year on Nov. 6-7 at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky. The $7 million Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, contested at 1 ¼ miles, will be run on Saturday, Nov. 7.

Both the Preakness, run at 1 3/16 miles, and the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, will be broadcast live on NBC.

“We are delighted to join The Stronach Group and the Maryland Jockey Club in welcoming the Preakness to this year's Breeders' Cup Challenge Series, and that we will be able to provide the winning connections with an added incentive to run in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic,” said Drew Fleming, Breeders' Cup President and CEO. “As a foundation race of the Triple Crown, and the premier event in the proud history of Maryland racing, we look forward to working together with The Stronach Group, and our partners at NBC Sports, to promote an exciting fall season for Thoroughbred racing.”

“The events of 2020 have for all of us been about responding to unforeseen challenges and making the best of them,” said Craig Fravel, Chief Executive Officer, Racing Operations, 1/ST. “Many of those challenges including the changes to the Triple Crown have been unwelcome but becoming part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series is most welcome and a fitting finale to the three-year-old season as the horses and their connections make their way to Baltimore for the last leg of the Triple Crown. We look forward to hosting the best of America's three-year-old horses on October 3 at the Preakness and to enjoying their success thereafter in the Breeders' Cup Classic.”

“With terrific racing ahead, we're excited that the two biggest events of the fall months will be further connected with the Preakness Stakes winner earning a coveted berth in the Breeders' Cup Classic,” said Jon Miller, President of Programming for NBC and NBCSN.

Due to scheduling changes caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the Preakness date was shifted from May 16 to Oct. 3, and will be run as the third jewel of the 2020 Triple Crown. This year's Triple Crown began on June 20 with the Belmont Stakes (G1), won by Tiz the Law, at Belmont Park, and will be followed by the Kentucky Derby (G1), which will be run on Sept. 5 at Churchill Downs.

Four Preakness winners have won the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic. In 2015, American Pharoah swept the Triple Crown and the Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland to become racing's first “Grand Slam” winner. Preakness winners Sunday Silence (1989), Alysheba (1987) and Curlin (2007) also won the Classic. Alysheba captured the Classic in 1988.

As part of the benefits of the Challenge series, the Breeders' Cup will pay the $150,000 in entry fees for the Preakness winner to start in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, which is limited to 14 starters. Breeders' Cup also will provide a travel allowance of $10,000 for all North American starters based outside of Kentucky to compete in the World Championships. The Preakness winner must already be nominated to the Breeders' Cup program or it must be nominated by the Championships' pre-entry deadline of Oct. 26 to receive the rewards.

There are six horses who have thus far earned automatic starting positions into this year's Longines Breeders' Cup Classic through the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Mozu Ascot, winner of the February Stakes (G1) at Tokyo Racecourse on Feb. 23; Tom's d'Etat, who took the Stephen Foster Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs on June 27; Authentic, winner of the TVG.com Haskell Stakes (G1) at Monmouth Park on July 18; Improbable, who won the Whitney (G1) at Saratoga Race Course on Aug. 1; Ghaiyyath (IRE), winner of the Juddmonte International Stakes (G1) at York on Aug. 19 in Great Britain and Maximum Security, who won the TVG Pacific Classic (G1) at Del Mar on Aug. 22.

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Stronach 5: Friday Wager Sees Three Winning Tickets Each Worth $47,117

There were only three winning tickets in Friday's Stronach 5, and each was worth $47,117.10.

The popular wager, with an industry-low 12-percent takeout and $100,000 guaranteed pool, featured races from Laurel Park, Gulfstream Park and Golden Gate Fields, and two of the five races in the Stronach 5 produced $50 winners.

Friday's Stronach 5 started with a bang when Palm Reader, a 24-1 shot, wore down pacesetter Sailingintothewind inside the final 50 yards to win Laurel's seventh race on the turf and return $50.20.

After Alastor ($6.60) won Gulfstream's ninth race, Bunting ($7.40) won Laurel's eighth race and Mayan Queen ($6.40) was triumphant in Laurel's ninth, the sequence ended at Golden Gate Fields and 25-1 longshot Hula King ($53.40) winning the second race

Friday's races and sequence

· Leg One – Laurel Park 7th Race: Palm Reader $50.20

· Leg Two –Gulfstream Park 9th Race: Alastor $6.60

· Leg Three –Laurel Park 8th Race: Bunting $7.40

· Leg Four –Laurel Park 9th Race: Mayan Queen $6.40

· Leg Five –Golden Gate Fields 2nd race: Hula King $53.40

Fans can watch and wager on the action at 1/ST.COM/BET as well as stream all the action in English and Spanish at LaurelPark.com, SantaAnita.com, GulfstreamPark.com, and GoldenGateFields.com.

The Stronach 5 In the Money podcast, hosted by Jonathan Kinchen and Peter Thomas Fornatale, will be posted by 2 p.m. Thursday at InTheMoneyPodcast.com and will be available on iTunes and other major podcast distributors

The minimum wager on the multi-race, multi-track Stronach 5 is $1. If there are no tickets with five winners, the entire pool will be carried over to the next Friday.

If a change in racing surface is made after the wagering closes, each selection on any ticket will be considered a winning selection. If a betting interest is scratched, that selection will be substituted with the favorite in the win pool when wagering closes.

The Maryland Jockey Club serves as host of the Stronach 5.

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