Four stakes in California, New York lose Grade 1 status for 2020

No races were upgraded to Grade 1 status for 2020, but four races – three in California, one in New York – lost their Grade 1 ranking, the American Graded Stakes Committee announced Friday when releasing its comprehensive graded stakes list for next year.

The Chandelier – won this year by Bast, who also won the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante and Grade 1 Starlet at Los Alamitos – has been downgraded to Grade 2, along with the Santa Anita Oaks and Santa Anita Sprint Championship, which this year produced a one-two finish by Omaha Beach and Shancelot and in both 2018 and 2017 was won by that year’s champion male sprinter, Roy H. Those three races are run at Santa Anita. The lone New York race downgraded to Grade 2 was the Vosburgh, won the past two years by Imperial Hint.

So, the two major preps in California and New York for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint both were downgraded.

The American Graded Stakes Committee, run under the auspices of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, met earlier this week in Lexington, Ky., and reviewed 844 U.S. stakes races with a purse of at least $75,000. Of those, 448 received graded status, two fewer than for 2019, according to a release from TOBA. There will be 99 Grade 1 races, 135 Grade 2, and 214 Grade 3 in 2020.

Stakes races upgraded to Grade 2 status for 2020 are the Fort Marcy, Pennine Ridge, and Pilgrim at Belmont Park; Edgewood and Pat Day Mile at Churchill Downs; Bourbon at Keeneland; and Joe Hernandez at Santa Anita

Six races were downgraded from Grade 2 to Grade 3 in 2020 – the Gazelle at Aqueduct; Pocahontas at Churchill Downs; Holy Bull at Gulfstream; Monmouth Stakes at Monmouth Park; and Kona Gold and San Luis Rey at Santa Anita.

Stakes upgraded to Grade 3 status were the Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational and Runhappy at Belmont Park; Dogwood at Churchill Downs; Louisiana at Fair Grounds; Kitten’s Joy at Gulfstream Park; and Challenger at Tampa Bay Downs.

Those six races essentially traded places with the American Derby, Arlington Matron, and Hanshin Cup at Arlington Park; All American at Golden Gate; Hutcheson at Gulfstream; and Oceanport at Monmouth, all of which were downgraded from Grade 3 to listed for 2020.

The American St. Leger at Arlington; Miami Mile, Old Hat, and Sir Shackleton at Gulfstream; Donald Levine Memorial at Parx Racing; Mountainview at Penn National; and Arcadia, Clocker’s Corner, Landaluce, Los Angeles, San Pedro, Santa Anita Juvenile, and Southern Truce at Santa Anita were not eligible for grading in 2020.