Horse Racing News is the source of thoroughbred racing information with horse racing odds, betting tips, racing picks, race results, and handicapping. Latest news and articles on top horse racing contenders, jockeys, trainers, three-year-olds, race tracks, and major stakes races such as the Triple Crown races: the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes as well as the Breeders' Cup horse races.NYRA Slashes Purses to $4 Million; Moves Woodward to Saratoga
Posted on Thursday, December 8th, 2005
NEW YORK (AP) — The prestigious $500,000 Woodward Stakes will be run at Saratoga for the first time next year, the most significant change in the 2006 racing schedule proposed Wednesday by the New York Racing Association.
Since 1968, the 1 1/8-mile Woodward has been held at Belmont Park, and pending approval by the New York State Racing and Wagering Board the race will be Sept. 2, the final weekend of the Saratoga meeting.
The move is being made to spread out the more important handicap races over the summer and fall season. For older horses, the summer/fall schedule includes the Whitney on Aug. 5 and the Woodward, both at Saratoga, and the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont on Oct. 7.
This year, the Woodward and Jockey Club Gold Cup were three weeks apart, with horses unlikely to run in both races with such a short turnaround. Now, there will be a five-week break.
Also, the Brooklyn Handicap was renamed the Brooklyn Breeders’ Cup Handicap and will be run Sept. 16 at Belmont instead of in June. The races are preps for the Breeders’ Cup at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., next Nov. 4.
Woodward winners in 2003 (Mineshaft) and 2004 (Ghostzapper) went on to win Horse of the Year honors. Saint Liam, who won the Woodward on Sept. 10 and then took the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Oct. 29, is the favorite to be chosen 2005 Horse of the Year.
To make room for the Woodward, the Saratoga Breeders’ Cup Handicap has been eliminated. Also, NYRA proposed a $4 million reduction in purses and plans to eliminate eight other stakes races.
"There are a lot of changes on this schedule, including some purse reductions or eliminations of stakes, but we made sure that NYRA’s commitment to excellence remains intact," NYRA vice president Bill Nader said.
"The overall dollar reduction in stakes is nearly $4 million, but much of that money will be added back in overnight stakes that will be announced from condition book to condition book. This helps NYRA strike a better balance with dollars allocated to stakes and overnight races, and be more responsive to the available horse inventory from meet to meet."
Other changes on the 2006 NYRA schedule for Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga, include:
— More 2-year-old races at Saratoga, including the return of the Schuylerville (July 26) and the Sanford (July 27).
— The Labor Day weekend at Saratoga will feature four Grade 1 races — the Forego Handicap, the Woodward, the Spinaway and the Hopeful. The Travers remains in its usual slot. Next year, it’s Aug. 26.
— On Belmont Stakes day (June 10), the Woody Stephens Breeders’ Cup replaces the Riva Ridge Breeders’ Cup. Also new on card is the Acorn for 3-year-old fillies.
— The Peter Pan, a Belmont prep, will be three weeks before the 1 1/2 -mile final leg of the Triple Crown instead of two weeks.
— At Aqueduct, the Gotham (March 18) moves from the main track to the inner dirt track and the distance increases to 1 1/16th miles from one mile. The Wood Memorial will again be run four weeks before the Kentucky Derby. The Wood will be April 8.
Meanwhile, among the cuts in grade I stakes, The Jockey Club Gold Cup purse was reduced from $1 million to $750,000, and the Beldame, Flower Bowl, Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, and Met Mile were all cut from $750,000 to $600,000. The Coaching Club American Oaks saw its purse reduced to $300,000 from $500,000.
While four stakes, the victory Ride, Gotham, Woody Stephens (formerly the Riva Ridge), and National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, had their purses increased $50,000 each.
The eliminated stakes are the Astarita, Valley Stream, Cowdin, Huntington, Lawrence Realization, Saratoga Breeders’ Cup, Belmont Breeders’ Cup, and Meadowbrook Steeplechase.
"NYRA Slashes Purses to $4 Million; Moves Woodward to Saratoga" was posted on Thursday, December 8th, 2005 at 11:51 am and is filed under Aqueduct, Belmont Park, Belmont Stakes, Horse Racing Industry, Race Tracks News, Saratoga, Stakes Races, Triple Crown, USA Horse Racing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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