Aqueduct keeping similar schedule for 2020-21 winter meet

The New York Racing Association will offer 42 stakes worth $4.57 million during a 56-day Aqueduct 2020-21 winter meet that runs Dec. 10 through March 28, and 13 stakes worth $2.7 million during an 11-day spring meet that runs from April 1 through April 18, the company announced Thursday.

Further, the purse increases that NYRA announced starting Sunday for the remainder of the Belmont Park fall meet will continue through Aqueduct’s winter and spring sessions.

The 2020-21 winter dates virtually mirror schedules for the last three years, with racing conducted on a four-day-a-week basis December through February – most Thursdays through Sundays with a couple of holiday exceptions – and three days a week in March. There will be a longer holiday break this year, with no live racing from Dec. 21 through Dec. 30.

The winter meet will again have a trio of stakes for 3-year-olds that offer qualifying points to the May 1 Kentucky Derby: the $150,000 Jerome on New Year’s Day; the Grade 3, $250,000 Withers Stakes on Feb. 6; and the Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham Stakes on March 6. The latter program also includes the Grade 3, $200,000 Tom Fool Handicap and the $250,000 Busher Invitational, which offers qualifying points to the April 30 Kentucky Oaks.

Also, during the winter meet, the NYRA will again offer horsemen whose horses finish fourth through last a $300 credit that goes toward Jockey Injury Compensation Fund payments.

In terms of purses, most claiming levels will have purse increases of $3,000 to $6,000, while allowance races will have increases from $2,000 to $8,000 depending on the condition.

“Over the last several months, the NYTHA board and management team has been working with NYRA to ensure year-round racing has a solid foundation, both in terms of racing opportunities and the purses that fuel our Thoroughbred economy,” said Joe Appelbaum, president of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association. “This plan is a big step in that direction. Aqueduct is going to be a great spot for horsemen to race.”

The spring meet will have one three-day week owing to Easter, and two four-day weeks. In the past, NYRA has tried to run five-day weeks at Aqueduct’s spring season.

This year, the entire spring meet was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Wood Memorial, not run in 2019, is scheduled for April 3 and will be worth $750,000 and offer 170 qualifying points (100-40-20-10) to its top four finishers toward the Kentucky Derby. That April 3 card also includes the Grade 1 Carter for older sprinters; the Grade 3 Gazelle for 3-year-old fillies hoping to make the Kentucky Oaks; the $200,000 Bay Shore for 3-year-old sprinters; and the $150,000 Excelsior for older males.