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Maryland Jockey Club Unveils Fall Schedule Of 33 Stakes Worth $3.525 Million

The Maryland Jockey Club announced Friday a fall schedule of 33 stakes worth $3.525 million in purses for Laurel Park led by the $200,000 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash (G3) and 36th edition of the Jim McKay Maryland Million.

The fall meet begins Thursday, Sept. 9 and run through Saturday, Dec. 31.

The six-furlong De Francis for 3-year-olds and up will help kick off the fall stakes schedule as one of four stakes worth $500,000 in purses Saturday, Sept. 18. Named for the late president and chairman of both Laurel and historic Pimlico Race Course, its illustrious roster of winners includes Hall of Famer Housebuster, fellow sprint champions Cherokee Run, Smoke Glacken, Thor's Echo and Benny the Bull, and Lite the Fuse, the race's only two-time winner.

Also on Sept. 18 are the $100,000 Weathervane for fillies and mares 3 and older sprinting six furlongs and a pair of one-mile events for 3-year-olds and up, the $100,000 Twixt for females and $100,000 Polynesian.

Saturday, Oct. 2 will feature five stakes, all on turf, worth $600,000 in purses highlighted by the $150,000 Laurel Futurity for 2-year-olds and $150,000 Selima for 2-year-old fillies, both going 1 1/16 miles. They are joined by the $100,000 Laurel Dash sprinting six furlongs and a pair of listed stakes, the $100,000 Japan Turf Cup at 1 ½ miles and $100,000 All Along for fillies and mares at 1 1/8 miles.

The ground-breaking Maryland Million, which debuted in 1986 and inspired copycat programs throughout the U.S. and Canada, returns Saturday, Oct. 23 with eight stakes anchored by the $150,000 Classic for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/8 miles. Juveniles are in the spotlight in the $100,000 Nursery and $100,000 Lassie for females, both at six furlongs.

Maryland Million will also serve up the $100,000 Sprint (3-year-olds and up, six furlongs), $100,000 Distaff (fillies and mares 3 and up, seven furlongs), $100,000 Turf (3-year-olds and up, 1 1/8 miles), $100,000 Ladies (fillies and mares 3 and up, 1 1/8 miles), and $75,000 Turf Sprint (3-year-olds and up, 5 ½ furlongs).

Juveniles will take center stage again Saturday, Nov. 13 in the $100,000 James F. Lewis III and $100,000 Smart Halo, the latter for fillies, both at six furlongs. The card will also include the $100,000 Thirty Eight Go Go at 1 1/16 miles for fillies and mares 3 and up.

Thanksgiving weekend will feature five stakes worth $450,000 in purses spread over two days. Maryland-bred/sired horses are featured Friday, Nov. 26 with the seven-furlong, $75,000 Howard and Sondra Bender Memorial for 3-year-olds and up and six-furlong, $75,000 Politely for fillies and mares 3 and older.

Saturday, Nov. 27 offers the last stakes races in Maryland for straight 3-year-olds, the $100,000 Safely Kept for fillies and $100,000 City of Laurel, both sprinting seven furlongs. In addition, horses aged 3 and up will travel 1 1/8 miles in the $100,000 Richard W. Small.

The final month of the calendar year will feature eight stakes worth $850,000 in purses, launched by the $100,000 Maryland Juvenile Futurity for 2-year-olds and $100,000 Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship, each at seven furlongs, Saturday, Dec. 4.

Christmastide Day Stakes return Saturday, Dec. 26 with six stakes worth $650,000 in purses including the $100,000 Heft for 2-year-olds and $100,000 Gin Talking for 2-year-old fillies sprinting seven furlongs, $100,000 Dave's Friend for 3-year-olds and up and $100,000 Willa On the Move for females 3 and older, each at 6 ½ furlongs.

New to the stakes calendar are the $150,000 Robert T. Manfuso for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/16 miles and $100,000 Carousel at 1 1/8 miles for fillies and mares 3 and older. The Carousel, which carried Grade 3 status from 1988 through 1997, was last run in 2002 at Laurel.

Manfuso passed away March 19, 2020 at the age of 82. A former owner of both Laurel and Pimlico and longtime partner of trainer Katy Voss, Manfuso was instrumental in revitalizing Thoroughbred racing in Maryland. An owner and breeder who established Chanceland Farm with Voss in 1987, Manfuso bred 2016 Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner Cathryn Sophia and was named Maryland's Breeder of the Year with his filly earning Maryland-bred Horse of the Year honors.

The extended Preakness Meet at Pimlico runs through Sunday, Aug. 22. Live racing shifts to the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium from Aug. 26 through Labor Day, Sept. 6.

Fall Stakes Schedule: https://www.laurelpark.com/sites/www.laurelpark.com/files/PDF/2021-FINAL-Fall-stakes-schedule.pdf

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With Loosening Travel Restrictions, Woodbine Readies For U.S. Participants

With lucrative stakes races approaching and travel restrictions loosening, Woodbine Entertainment is ready to welcome participants from the United States to Woodbine Racetrack.

As of Aug. 9, 2021, Canada will begin allowing entry to American citizens and permanent residents, who are currently residing in the United States, and have been fully vaccinated at least 14 days prior to entering Canada for non-essential travel.

Fully vaccinated travelers will not have to quarantine upon arrival in Canada. Any unvaccinated travelers entering Canada will be required to quarantine for 14 days, unless granted a quarantine exemption.

All travelers arriving in Canada are required to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test conducted within the prior 72 hours. Woodbine will also seek proof of this negative COVID-19 test for its own records.

August and September mark the richest months of racing during the 2021 Woodbine Thoroughbred season with more than $8 million in stakes to be contested plus additional world-class racing opportunities. A total of 15 graded stakes, including five Grade 1 events, will be contested through August and September. To view the entire stakes schedule, click here.

With this significant part of the racing season nearing, owners, trainers and jockeys from the United States should familiarize with the new Canada border measures ahead of its reopening on Aug. 9. An “Entering Canada Checklist” can be found by clicking here.

Ahead of the Aug. 9 border reopening, any individual coming from outside Canada seeking immediate access to Woodbine Racetrack will be permitted if a quarantine exemption is granted and a negative COVID-19 test is provided. Those individuals will be enrolled in Woodbine's Enhanced Screening Program.

Woodbine Entertainment looks forward to welcoming all members of the racing community over the coming weeks and months. Participants can find all relevant racing information and contact information by visiting www.Woodbine.com/Horsepeople/.

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Maxfield Remains On Top Of Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings

For the fourth consecutive week, Godolphin's Maxfield is rated No. 1 in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings, a weekly poll of the top 10 horses in contention for the $6 million Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1). This year's Longines Breeders' Cup Classic will be run at Del Mar racetrack in Del Mar, California, on Nov. 6 as the final race of the 38^th Breeders' Cup World Championships.

The 4-year-old Maxfield, who has won three of four starts this year, including the Stephen Foster Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs on June 26, leads the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings with 20 first-place votes and 299 total votes. Godolphin's 3-year-old Essential Quality, the Belmont Stakes (G1) winner, retained second place with 276 votes. Trained by Brad Cox, Essential Quality won last year's TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (G1). Boat Racing, Gainesway Stable, Roadrunner Racing, and William Strauss's Hot Rod Charlie moved from fourth to third place this week with 219 votes. Trained by Doug O'Neill, Hot Rod Charlie crossed the wire first in Saturday's TVG.com Haskell Stakes (G1) but was disqualified for interference and placed seventh. Juddmonte's 3-year-old Mandaloun finished a nose behind Hot Rod Charlie in the Haskell and was declared the race winner following the stewards' ruling. Mandaloun, also trained by Cox, jumped from ninth to fourth in the rankings with 172 votes.

Places five through eight in the rankings remained unchanged. Korea Racing Authority's Knicks Go, the third Cox-trained horse in the top 10, is in fifth place with 147 votes. This year, Knicks Go has won the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) at Gulfstream Park and the Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap (G3) on July 2, which he captured by 10 ½ lengths. Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing's 4-year-old Silver State is in sixth place with 128 votes. Trained by Steve Asmussen, Silver State is unbeaten in four starts this year, including victories in the Oaklawn Handicap (G2) and Belmont's Hill 'N' Dale Metropolitan Handicap (G1). WinStar Farm's 4-year-old Country Grammer, winner of the Hollywood Gold Cup (G1) at Santa Anita Park, is in seventh place with 87 votes.

St. George Stable's 5-year-old mare Letruska, trained by Fausto Gutierrez, is in eighth place with 84 votes. Letruska has won four of five starts this year, including a 5 ¾-length victory in the Fleur de Lis Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs on June 26. Wertheimer and Frere's 4-year-old Happy Saver, trained by Todd Pletcher, moved from 10th to ninth this week. Happy Saver, who lost his first race in six starts when he finished third in the Suburban (G2) at Belmont Park on July 3, has 64 votes. George E. Hall and SportBLX Thoroughbreds Corp.'s 4-year-old Max Player, who won the Suburban, is in 10^th place. Also trained by Asmussen, Max Player has 63 votes. Godolphin's Mystic Guide, who was third in last week's rankings, has been taken out of training due to an injury.

Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings – July 20, 2021*

Rank	Horse	Votes	First-Place Votes	Previous Week
1	Maxfield	299	20	1
2	Essential Quality	276	8	2
3	Hot Rod Charlie	219	1	4
4	Mandaloun	172	0	9
5	Knicks Go	147	1	5
6	Silver State	128	0	6
7	Country Grammer	87	2	7
8	Letruska	84	0	8
9	Happy Saver	64	0	10
10	Max Player	63	0	12

*Note – The Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings have no bearing on qualification or selection into the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic.

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The 2021 Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, which will be run at 1 ¼ miles on the main track, is limited to 14 starters. The race will be broadcast live on NBC.

The Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings are determined by a panel of leading Thoroughbred racing media, horseplayers and members of the Breeders' Cup Racing Directors/Secretaries Panel. Rankings will be announced each week through Oct. 11. A list of voting members can be found here.

In the Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings, each voter rates horses on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 system in descending order.

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Colorado Horsemen’s Association To Appoint New Officers And Directors Tuesday

The Colorado Horsemen's Association's Board of Directors will appoint a new president, vice president, and up to four new directors at its regular monthly meeting set for Tuesday at 11 a.m. MT.

The new officers and directors will fill seats vacated by the previous president, vice president, and two additional directors, all of whom resigned last week. Per article 5.2 of CHA bylaws, “Should a director resign, he may be replaced until the next election by a majority vote of the Board of Directors.” The next regular election will occur later this year.

CHA voting members interested in serving on the Board are invited to submit a letter of interest to any current Board member in advance of Tuesday's meeting. A voting member is defined in the bylaws as a licensed trainer with at least one active racehorse currently in their care or any licensed owner. A voting member must be a resident of Colorado to be considered for Board or officer appointments. The current Board members are Victor Cervantes, Kerry Kemper, Kim Oliver, Miguel Pena, and Mark Schultz.

Tuesday's meeting will be held remotely via Zoom and is open to any interested party. A link and passcode will be posted Tuesday morning on the private Facebook group, “Horsemen of Arapahoe Park,” and is also available upon request by e-mailing ColoradoHorseRacing@gmail.com.

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