Haskell undercard stakes get a purse boost

Monmouth Park in New Jersey has put in place sizeable purse increases for a number of stakes races that will appear on the undercard of its richest race, the $1 million Haskell Stakes, the track announced on Tuesday.

Four graded stakes on the July 23 Haskell undercard will have their purses boosted: the Grade 1 United Nations, from $500,000 last year to $600,000 this year; the Grade 3 Monmouth Cup, from $300,000 to $400,000; the Grade 3 Molly Pitcher, from $250,000 to $400,000; and the Grade 3 Matchmaker, from $150,000 to $200,000.

The May 7-Sept. 17 meet will include 50 total stakes, 10 of them graded. Total purses in the stakes are set to be $8.14 million.

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The June 18 card will feature four stakes that can serve as prep races for the Haskell and its undercard: the Grade 3 Eatontown, the Grade 3 Salvator Mile, the Grade 3 Monmouth Stakes, and the Pegasus Stakes. All four races have a purse of $150,000.

The Grade 3 Monmouth Oaks is scheduled for July 31, while the remaining graded stakes, the Grade 3 Philip H. Iselin, is scheduled for Aug. 20.

Monmouth has also scheduled a relatively new race, the Nownownow, for closing day, Sept. 17. The one-mile race for 2-year-olds at one mile on the turf will have a purse of $500,000 and be run for the third year.