Gulfstream Park to host Claiming Crown through 2015

The Claiming Crown, an eight-race event for horses that have started in claiming races in the past year, will be held at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., through 2015, the organizers of the event announced Thursday in a joint release.

This year’s Claiming Crown, scheduled for Dec. 7 at Gulfstream, will be the second consecutive to be held at the track.

The lineup this year will include a new race, the $110,000 Iron Lady, for fillies and mares who have started for $7,500 since Jan. 1, 2012, going 1 1/16 miles. In total, the eight races on this year’s card will offer $1 million in purses, a record. The richest race is the $200,000 Jewel, for horses who have started for a claiming price of $35,000 since the beginning of the year, going 1 1/8 miles.

Last year, the Claiming Crown was held on Gulfstream’s opening day. Handle for the card was $12.2 million, up 66 percent compared to handle on the same day in 2011, according to the track.