$5.4 million schedule looks familiar
Arlington Park's proposed 2006 stakes schedule, nearly a carbon copy of 2005, was approved Tuesday by the Illinois Racing Board.
Arlington is in the midst of breaking in a new director of racing, Kevin Greely, while still seeking a successor to departed president Cliff Goodrich, and Arlington's parent company, Churchill Downs Inc., apparently saw no need to alter the schedule put in place last season.
The 26 stakes on the 2006 racing calendar will offer purses totaling more than $5.4 million, with $2.15 million of the total stakes purses coming on Arlington Million Day, set for Aug. 12 this year. The Million card, as usual, also includes Arlington's other two Grade 1 stakes, the $750,000 Beverly D. and the $400,000 Secretariat.
Other meet highlights include the three-stakes Million Preview Day on July 22; the $300,000 Washington Park Handicap on July 29; and the six-stakes Prairie State Festival for Illinois-breds on June 24.
There is one new race on the schedule, the May 7 Avers Wexler Stakes, carded for 1 1/16 miles on turf, and restricted to the horses of Illinois owners.
2006 stakes schedule
| DATE | EVENT | CONDITIONS | DISTANCE | PURSE |
| Sun.,May 7 | Avers Wexler Stakes | 3YO & Up** | 1 1/16 miles (T) | $100,000 |
| Sat.,May 27 | Hanshin Cup (G3) | 3YO & Up | 1 mile | 100,000 |
| Sat.,June 17 | Chicago B.C. Handicap (G3) | F&M, 3YO & Up | 7 furlongs | 175,000 |
| Sat.,June 24 | Purple Violet Stakes | 3YO F* | 1 mile | 75,000 |
| Sat.,June 24 | Springfield Stakes | 3YO* | 1 mile | 75,000 |
| Sat.,June 24 | Isaac Murphy Handicap | F&M, 3YO & Up* | 6 furlongs | 75,000 |
| Sat.,June 24 | White Oak Handicap | 3YO & Up* | 6 furlongs | 75,000 |
| Sat.,June 24 | Lincoln Heritage Handicap | F&M, 3YO & Up* | 1 1/16 miles (T) | 75,000 |
| Sat.,June 24 | Black Tie Affair Handicap | 3YO & Up* | 1 1/16 miles (T) | 75,000 |
| Sat.,July 1 | Arlington Classic (G3) | 3YO | 1 1/16 miles (T) | 150,000 |
| Sun.,July 2 | Stars & Stripes B.C. Turf (G3) | 3YO & Up | 1 1/2 miles (T) | 200,000 |
| Sat.,July 15 | Round Table Stakes | 3YO | 1 1/8 miles | 100,000 |
| Sat.,July 22 | American Derby (G2) | 3YO | 1 3/16 miles (T) | 250,000 |
| Sat.,July 22 | Arlington Handicap (G3) | 3YO & Up | 1 1/4 miles (T) | 200,000 |
| Sat.,July 22 | Modesty Handicap (G3) | F&M, 3YO & Up | 1 3/16 miles (T) | 150,000 |
| Sat.,July 29 | Washington Park Handicap (G2) | 3YO & Up | 1 3/16 miles | 300,000 |
| Sat.,Aug. 5 | Sea O'Erin Breeders' Cup mile | 3YO & Up | 1 mile (T) | 150,000 |
| Sat.,Aug. 12 | Secretariat Stakes (G1) | 3YO | 1 1/4 miles (T) | 400,000 |
| Sat.,Aug. 12 | Beverly D. (G1) | F&M, 3YO & Up | 1 3/16 miles (T) | 750,000 |
| Sat.,Aug. 12 | Arlington Million XXIV (G1) | 3YO & Up | 1 1/4 miles (T) | 1,000,000 |
| Sat.,Aug. 19 | Arlington Oaks (G3) | 3YO F | 1 1/8 miles | 100,000 |
| Sat.,Aug. 26 | Arlington B.C. Sprint | 3YO & Up | 6 furlongs | 150,000 |
| Sat.,Sept. 2 | Arlington Matron Handicap (G3) | F&M, 3YO & Up | 1 1/8 miles | 150,000 |
| Sat.,Sept. 9 | Pucker Up Stakes (G3) | 3YO F | 1 1/8 miles (T) | 200,000 |
| Sun.,Sept. 10 | Arl.-Wash. B.C. Lassie (G3) | 2YO F | 1 mile | 150,000 |
| Sun.,Sept. 10 | Arl.-Wash. B.C. Futurity (G3) | 2YO | 1 mile | 200,000 |
*Illinois-registered; **Illinois-owners