Cotillion, Pa. Derby headline nine stakes card on Sept. 25

Parx Racing outside of Philadelphia will run six graded stakes this year on its Sept. 25 card, including its two Grade 1 races, the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby and $1 million Cotillion Stakes, the track announced on Tuesday.

The blockbuster card will also include a listed stakes and two $100,000 stakes restricted to Pennsylvania-bred horses, the track said, making for a total of nine stakes on a card scheduled six weeks prior to the Breeders’ Cup. A number of the Sept. 25 races have served as prep races for Breeders’ Cup events in the past.

“Other tracks have had a lot of success both from a wagering standpoint and being able to create a buzz running several of their major races on the same card,” said David Osojnak, the director of racing at the track, in a release. “The goal is to continue to expand the Pennsylvania Derby/Cotillion card into one of the premier days in the fall racing schedule.”

Although Parx canceled the vast majority of its stakes races last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Derby/Cotillion card in 2019 included three other open stakes races, plus the two stakes for Pennsylvania-breds.

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In addition to the Derby and the Cotillion this year, the Sept. 25 card will include the Grade 2 Gallant Bob, the Grade 3 Turf Monster, the Grade 3 Greenwood Cup, the Grade 3 Dr. James Penny Memorial, and the Parx Dirt Mile.

In total for its 2021 live-racing meet, the track has scheduled 23 stakes, 12 of which are restricted to Pennsylvania-breds. The stakes races are offering a total of $5 million in purses.

The Aug. 24 card will include a prep race for the Pennsylvania Derby, the Grade 3 Smarty Jones, as well as a prep for the Turf Monster, the Grade 3 Parx Dash, and a prep for the Cotillion, the Cathryn Sophia Stakes. Any horse that wins both the Smarty Jones and the Pennsylvania Derby will receive an additional $100,000, to be divided between the owner and the trainer, and an identical bonus will be awarded to a winner of the Cathryn Sophia and the Cotillion.

Parx said that raceday Lasix will be banned for all runners competing in its graded stakes, in line with decisions made by other tracks and racing organizations to prohibit the use of the anti-bleeding medication in graded stakes for the 2021 racing year.