Calder adds $1.15M stakes day

Calder Race Course has added a four-stakes, $1.15 million day of turf racing in April that includes a bet tied to the Kentucky Derby. Called the Turf Million, it will be conducted on April 26. The 2008 Calder meet opens on April 21.

The Turf Million card is topped by the Grade 3 Calder Derby, whose purse has been doubled to $400,000. In addition to the 1 1/8-mile Calder Derby, the afternoon will also include the new $300,000 Mairzy Doates Handicap at 1 3/8 miles for fillies and mares, the $250,000 Bob Umphrey Turf Sprint Handicap at five furlongs, and the $200,000 Calder Oaks for 3-year-old fillies.

The Calder Derby and Oaks have traditionally been run on the Festival of the Sun card in mid-October, while the Umphrey Sprint has been a mainstay on the Summit of Speed program in early July.

The Calder Derby will also be the opening half of the new Calder Derby-Kentucky Derby Double wager in which bettors must pick the winner of the Calder Derby and of the Kentucky Derby the following Saturday. Both Calder and Churchill Downs are owned by Churchill Downs Inc.

The Turf Million will also have an autograph sesssion by Hall of Fame jockeys Pat Day and Chris McCarron.