Haskell Day stakes get purse increases

The Grade 1, $1 million Haskell Invitational Stakes, the centerpiece of the Monmouth Park meet in New Jersey, will be held this year on July 18 as part of a card with five additional stakes, according to a stakes schedule released by the track on Tuesday.

The July 18 Haskell card will feature stakes races with total purses of $1.925 million. Two of the undercard stakes races, the Grade 3, $300,000 Monmouth Cup and Grade 3, $250,000 Molly Pitcher, have been given $100,000 purse bumps this year, according to the track.

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The Haskell is restricted to 3-year-olds, and annually attracts horses that cut their teeth on the Triple Crown trail. Last year’s Haskell was won by Maximum Security, the horse disqualified from first in the Kentucky Derby and who earlier this year was named 3-year-old champion. Several of the races that day were canceled and delayed due to excessive heat.

This year’s meet, which starts on May 2, Kentucky Derby day, will feature a total of 63 stakes races. Twelve of the stakes are graded, and 11 are restricted to New Jersey-bred horses, according to the stakes schedule. The meet is scheduled to conclude on Sept. 27.

The June 20 card will include Monmouth’s only other Grade 1 race, the United Nations Stakes. That card will also include the Grade 3 Iselin Stakes and Grade 3 Eatontown Stakes. The Aug. 30 card will feature three $100,000 stakes for New Jersey-breds, and the Sept. 12 card will feature five $100,000 races that are part of the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championship series.

The track also announced that its stall applications are now available on-line. The applications are due by March 15.