Delaware Park schedules 22 stakes for 2011 meeting

Delaware Park has retained all 22 of its stakes from last year for 2011 and kept both the total amount devoted to stakes purses and the daily overnight purse structure the same as last season.

Aside from the slight decrease in live racing dates from 113 run last year to 106 in 2011, the only notable changes are a $50,000 purse boost to the Grade 2 Delaware Oaks, now worth $300,000, and the shuffling of the order of a few stakes.

The $125,000 Sweet and Sassy, a six-furlong sprint for fillies and mares, was run in late October last year but has been moved to June 25.

The Grade 3, $200,000 Robert Dick Memorial and the $100,000 Sussex, both part of the undercard for the meet’s two premier events, the Oaks on July 9 and the Grade 2, $750,000 Delaware Handicap on July 16, have flip-flopped spots on the stakes calendar. The Dick, one of six graded stakes on the schedule, will now join the $100,000 Barbaro on the Oaks card. The Sussex and the $100,000 R.R.M. Carpenter are now the supporting stakes for the Del Cap.

The three other graded races are the Grade 3 Obeah on June 11, the Grade 3 Endine on Aug. 20, and the Grade 3 Kent on Sept. 24.

Overall, the stakes package will be worth $3.1 million, the same as a year ago. Daily overnight purses are projected to be $200,000, the same as each of the past two years.

Delaware’s meet will open April 30 and operate on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday schedule through Nov. 5.