Indiana Grand schedules 35 stakes for upcoming meet

Indiana Grand during it’s 2019 racing season will host 35 stakes races worth $4.3 million, the track announced in a press release.

That’s the same number and value as the 2018 stakes program at the Shelbyville, Ind., racino, which opens its mixed Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing season April 16.

Indiana Grand has conducted major renovations to its dirt racing surface during the offseason, and while the project fell behind schedule because of harsh winter weather, racing officials expect the surface to be ready for opening day, although the completion of the project will delay the intended start of local training this month.

The meet highlight, Indiana Derby Day, is July 13, with the Grade 3, $500,000 Indiana Derby headlining a six-stakes program that includes the Grade 3, $200,000 Indiana Oaks. Those are Indiana Grand’s only graded races, but the track does host a pair of lucrative 3-year-old turf stakes, the $200,000 Caesars for fillies and the $200,000 Indiana Grand, both on Wednesday, Sept. 4.

While the Indiana Derby goes on a Saturday, most of the stakes will be run Wednesdays, and the program is heavy on Indiana-bred and -sired races, particularly during the latter part of the meet. The 2019 season ends Nov. 6.