Finger Lakes defies challenges, opens 145-day meet

Much has changed, and continues to change, since Finger Lakes first conducted Thoroughbred racing in 1962. But one thing hasn’t changed – Finger Lakes opens for live racing again this Saturday. The Farmington, N.Y., track is scheduled to conduct its typical 145 days of live racing from April 21 through Nov. 28.

Racing at Finger Lakes, which installed video lottery terminals at its facility in 2004, has survived despite the 2017 opening of the now-struggling del Lago Resort & Casino, just 28 miles away. Critics feared the casino would compete with the track for gaming customers, and therefore affect purses and revenues for horsemen.

But under a two-year agreement reached in time for last racing season, average purses per race are $13,690, a slight increase from the 2016 level of $13,224.

Under the agreement, which has the option for a third year, racetrack operator Delaware North, del Lago, and the New York Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund all contribute to the horsemen’s purse account. Del Lago did not reach its expected revenues in its first year, and its ownership has lobbied for a state bailout, which Gov. Andrew Cuomo rejected in late March.

Meanwhile, the show goes on at Finger Lakes, which has 11 stakes on its schedule for 2018. The richest of those is the $200,000 New York Breeders’ Futurity for statebred 2-year-olds on Sept. 29. The $117,263 Aspirant Stakes and the $116,550 Lady Finger Stakes for fillies, both carded for Sept. 8, serve as local preps.

Another centerpiece is the $150,000 New York Derby for statebred 3-year-olds, the middle leg of the Big Apple Triple, which also includes the Mike Lee Stakes at Belmont and the Albany Stakes at Saratoga. The New York Derby and the $75,000 New York Oaks for 3-year-old fillies will be contested July 21.

Eight other New York-bred stakes worth $50,000 are also on the schedule: The George W. Baker Stakes on June 4, the Niagara Stakes on June 18, the Ontario County Stakes on June 25, the Jack Betta Be Rite Stakes on Aug. 13, the Genesee Valley Breeders’ Stakes on Aug. 20, the Arctic Queen Stakes on Oct. 1, the Leon Reed Memorial Stakes on Oct. 9, and the Shesastonecoldfox Stakes on Oct. 22.

Breakin the Fever, who has been honored as the Finger Lakes horse of the year for three consecutive seasons, is among those expected to appear in the stakes program this year.