NYRA adds racing dates; five canceled stakes moved to next Friday
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The Withers and three other listed stakes races at Aqueduct that were originally scheduled for Saturday, a card canceled due to extreme cold, will now be run on Feb. 6, the New York Racing Association announced Friday afternoon.
Entries for the $200,000 Withers, $150,000 Toboggan, $135,000 Ruthless, and $135,000 Ladies were to be taken on Saturday. Those four stakes will be joined on the Friday, Feb. 6 card by the $135,000 Interborough, a race that had originally been scheduled for Jan. 24 but was scrapped when that card was canceled due to weather.
The Withers, run at 1 1/8 miles, awards its top five finishers qualifying points (20-10-6-4-2) to the May 2 Kentucky Derby. The original Withers field had eight horses, but one of them, Project Ace, was entered in Saturday’s Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes and was expected to run there. The Withers and all of the stakes that were canceled are open to original nominees and potential supplements.
Rob MacLennan, NYRA’s racing secretary, said Friday was chosen over Saturday for the rescheduling of those multiple stakes because of a more favorable weather forecast.
NYRA has had to cancel the equivalent of six racing programs since Jan. 24 due to extreme cold and, in the case of the Jan. 25 card, a snowstorm. Additionally, NYRA canceled the final five races of the Jan. 17 card due to snow.
As a way to make up for the missed dates, NYRA has added racing on Wednesday and plans to seek – and receive – approval from the New York State Gaming Commission to add Feb. 11, Feb. 19, Feb. 26, and March 5 to the schedule. Those dates were all originally scheduled as dark days.
NYRA has adjusted post times for its programs beginning Wednesday. First post for eight-race cards is 1:10 p.m. while first post for nine-race cards will be 12:40 p.m. Aqueduct will offer a 10-race card on Thursday with a 12:10 p.m first post.
Overnight races for Jan. 31 will come back as extras for Feb. 6 and beyond, while races carded for Feb. 1 will be brought back as extras for the proposed makeup day of Feb. 11. Races in the existing condition book will be used for live racing scheduled from Feb. 12-15.
NYRA will provide an updated condition book to cover the period of Feb. 19 to March 8.
The Withers will now be run the same day as the $1 million Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park, a race for 3-year-olds that also had to be moved from its original day (Jan. 31) due to a weather-related cancellation. The constant carousel of changing dates has played havoc for schedules of horses, trainers, and jockeys alike.
Among the riders with potential conflicts is Flavien Prat, the reigning two-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey, who has calls on horses in the Withers and Southwest. Brad Pegram, Prat’s agent, said Friday that Prat is expected to be at Oaklawn on Feb. 6.
“It’s definitely changed scenarios,” Pegram said. “Luckily, the people I’m working with are good to work with.”
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