New York-breds will be eligible for purse bonuses in open races at Saratoga
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New York-bred horses running in open maiden special weight races and open allowance races will be eligible for purse bonuses when racing on the New York circuit during the upcoming Saratoga Race Course meet beginning July 13.
The New York-bred bonuses will amount to a 30 percent bump over the purse in open maiden special weight races and in first-, second-, and third-level allowance races. For example, New York-bred horses running in an open maiden special weight worth $105,000 will compete for a base purse of $136,500, while New York-bred horses running in a first-level allowance race will compete for a base purse of $149,000 in a race with a purse of $115,000.
This is the first time that the New York-bred program has applied bonuses to statebred horses competing in open races, according to Najja Thompson, executive director of the New York Thoroughbred Breeders Inc., which runs the program.
“It’s a signal to the market that we want to see these New York-bred horses competing in the best races at New York’s most prestigious meet,” Thompson said.
The purses available to New York-bred horses in open races will be far in excess of those available for the same conditions in restricted races. At Saratoga, maiden special weights for New York-bred horses carry purses of $88,000, compared to the $136,500 base purse in the same condition for New York-bred horses in open maiden special weight races, while restricted first-level allowance races carry purses of $95,000, compared to the base purse of $149,000 for New York-bred horses competing in the same open condition.
During the Saratoga meet, many restricted races draw full or overflow fields, while the open races sometimes struggle to attract eight or more horses. Thompson said that a side effect of the new policy may be to increase the field sizes for the open races while also allowing for more opportunities for New York-bred horses in races that typically are oversubscribed.
“We’re hoping it helps out the entire Saratoga racing program,” Thompson said.
The purse bonuses will be applied throughout the 40-day Saratoga meet on an “experimental basis,” Thompson said. After the meet is over, the NYTB will evaluate the new policy to see if it can be expanded to the New York circuit on a year-round basis.
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