Four new stakes for Canadian-breds
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - A major revamping of the stakes schedule, comprising 24 races worth a total of $2.1 million, is on tap for this year's Fort Erie meeting.
The highlight of the stakes schedule, which was released Thursday, is the introduction of four $100,000 stakes for Canadian-bred 3-year-olds and upwards.
Those new stakes are the Canada Day, a six-furlong race for colts and geldings, July 1; the Daryl Wells Sr. Memorial, a six-furlong race for fillies and mares, July 4; and the Ernie Samuel Memorial, a 1 1/16-mile turf race for fillies and mares, plus the International Turf Cup, a 1 1/16-mile turf race for colts and geldings, both on July 18.
The Ernie Samuel Memorial and the International Turf Cup will be the new supporting features to the $500,000 Prince of Wales, the 1 3/16-mile race for Canadian-bred 3-year-olds which is the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown.
Fort Erie also is the home of the $250,000 Labatt Bison City, the 1 1/16-mile race for Canadian-bred 3-year-old fillies which is the second leg of the Canadian Triple Tiara.
Fort Erie is also reintroducing its "in-house" stakes program, with 12 races worth $40,000 apiece. In addition, ech of the races offer bonuses of up to $20,000 for Canadian-breds, courtesy of the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society's Thoroughbred Improvement Program.
The "in-house" stakes are restricted to horses who have made a specified number of starts at Fort Erie within a designated time frame.
Tom Gostlin, Fort Erie's racing secretary, said the restrictions were lifted last year so the stakes could qualify for black-type status but that decision has been reversed.
"Those races were designed for our owners here," said Gostlin. "That was the idea; to be able to give them back to our people, keep the money here."
The races in question will no longer offer black-type and the names and conditions of several have been altered.
The Fort Erie meeting, which has been abbreviated to 81 days this year, will begin May 1 and end Sept. 6. The early closing will accommodate the construction of a new main track.
2004 Fort Erie stakes schedule
| DATE | EVENT | CONDITIONS | DISTANCE | PURSE |
| Sun., June 6 | EXPEDITE PLUS | 3YO & Up C/G | 5 Furlongs | $40,000 |
| Sun., June 13 | ADENA SPRINGS MATCHMAKER | 3YO & Up F/M | 5 Furlongs (T) | 50,000 |
| Sun., June 20 | ROSE CITY | 3YO & Up F/M | 6 Furlongs | 40,000 |
| Sun., June 27 | NIAGARA FALLS | 3YO & Up C/G | 6 Furlongs | 40,000 |
| Thurs., July 1 | CANADA DAY | 3YO & Up C/G * | 6 Furlongs | 100,000 |
| Sun., July 4 | LABATT BISON CITY | 3YO F * | 1 1/16 Miles | 250,000 |
| DARYL WELLS SR. MEMORIAL | 3YO & Up F/M * | 6 Furlongs | 100,000 | |
| Sat., July 10 | H. A. HINDMARSH | 3YO & Up F/M | 1 1/16 Miles | 75,000 |
| Sun., July 11 | H. J. ADDISON JR. | 3YO & Up C/G | 1 1/16 Miles | 75,000 |
| Sun., July 18 | PRINCE OF WALES | 3YO * | 1 3/16 Miles | 500,000 |
| Sun., July 18 | ERNIE SAMUEL MEMORIAL | 3YO & Up F/M * | 1 1/16 Miles (T) | 100,000 |
| INTERNATIONAL TURF CUP | 3YO & Up C/G * | 1 1/16 Miles (T) | 100,000 |
* Restricted to Candian -breds
| DATE | EVENT | CONDITIONS | DISTANCE | PURSE |
| Sun., July 25 | RAINBOW CONNECTION | 3YO & Up F/M* | 5 Furlongs (T) | $125,000 |
| Sun., July 25 | PARNITHA | 3YO & Up C/G | 5 Furlongs (T) | 40,000 |
| Mon., Aug. 2 | CIVIC HOLIDAY | 3YO & Up C/G | 1 1/16 Miles | 40,000 |
| BORDER CUP | 3YO & Up F/M | 1 1/16 Miles | 40,000 | |
| Sun., Aug. 8 | GOLDEN HORSESHOE | 3YO & Up F/M | Abt 7 F (T) | 40,000 |
| Sun., Aug. 15 | BLAZING SEVENS | 3YO & Up C/G | Abt 7 F (T) | 40,000 |
| Sun., Aug. 22 | QUEEN CITY | 3YO & Up F/M | 6 Furlongs | 40,000 |
| Sun., Aug. 29 | GARDEN CITY | 3YO & Up C/G | 6 Furlongs | 40,000 |
| Sat., Sept. 4 | JUVENILE | 2YO F | 6 Furlongs | 75,000 |
| Sun., Sept. 5 | JUVENILE | 2YO C/G | 6 Furlongs | 75,000 |
| Mon., Sept. 6 | CENTRE STAGE ANNE | 3YO & Up F/M | 1 1/16 Miles (T) | 40,000 |
| PUSS N BOOTS | 3YO & Up C/G | 1 1/16 Miles (T) | 40,000 |
* Restricted to Ontario-sired