Arapahoe adopts new system for qualifying for Quarter Horse stakes
Arapahoe Park in Aurora, Colo., will open its 39-date mixed meet Friday with a new qualifying schedule for its richest stakes for Quarter Horses, a new racing secretary in Hank Demoney, and a new stakes for Thoroughbreds. The season will run through Aug. 13.
Arapahoe will put on 31 stakes worth a total of $1.1 million, chief among them the $100,000 Gold Rush Futurity for Thoroughbreds on Aug. 13. The six-furlong race will share a card with the $100,000 Arapahoe Park Quarter Horse Futurity, a 400-yard race that was formerly the Mile High Futurity.
The starters for both the Arapahoe Park Futurity and the $60,000 Arapahoe Park Quarter Horse Derby – previously the Mile High Derby – will be determined through a series of qualifying races throughout the meet rather than trials. The qualifiers start Friday with the third and sixth races, both allowances with purses of $7,500. The winners of the Cherry Creek Futurity and the Lucille Rowe Derby on July 15 also will qualify for the Arapahoe Park Futurity and Derby, respectively.
In other stakes highlights, the $30,000 Encantadora Stakes for 3-year-old fillies has been added to the lineup of 19 races for Thoroughbreds. It will be run over six furlongs on July 9. The $30,000 Colorado Derby at 1 1/16 miles is July 16, and the $30,000 Arapahoe Park Classic for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/8 miles is Aug. 12.
Demoney comes to the racing-secretary position after serving as a steward at Arapahoe.
Arapahoe will race Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, with a special Monday program on Memorial Day, May 29. Due to the holiday card, there will be no racing on Friday, May 26. First post daily is 1 p.m. Mountain.
Arapahoe’s overnight purses for Thoroughbreds are scheduled to range from $4,800 to $9,700 for maiden special weights and $14,500 for allowances carrying no conditions.
Arapahoe will put on a nine-race card Friday, with seven races for Thoroughbreds