NYRA announces bonuses for New York Stakes, Flower Bowl

The New York Racing Association on Saturday announced two bonuses for female turf horses.

Should a previous winner of the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks, Grade 3 Saratoga Oaks, or Jockey Club Oaks – races restricted to 3-year-old fillies – win this year’s Grade 2, $750,000 New York Stakes on June 4 at Belmont Park, that horse would earn its owner a bonus of $315,000 and its trainer a bonus of $35,000.

Should a previous winner of the Belmont Oaks, Saratoga Oaks, or Jockey Club Oaks win the Grade 1, $600,000 Flower Bowl Stakes on Sept. 4 at Saratoga, that horse would earn its owner a bonus of $300,000 and its trainer a bonus of $30,000. The Flower Bowl is open to fillies and mares 4 years old and up, so a horse that was to win any of the designated Oaks races this year would not be eligible for the Flower Bowl bonus until next year.

“The bonus system is a win-win for the 3-year-old Turf Triple series winners as they progress to their 4- and 5-year-old seasons,” Martin Panza, NYRA’s senior vice president of racing operations, said in a Saturday press release. “NYRA wants the best turf fillies and mares pointing towards our races, providing our fans with top-class events.”

Antoinette, who won the 2020 Saratoga Oaks, and Magic Attitude, winner of the 2020 Belmont Oaks, would be the only two North America-based horses eligible for either bonus this year. Those two fillies are currently in training in Florida. The Jockey Club Oaks was not run in 2020. The France-based Edisa won the 2019 Jockey Club Oaks.

Concrete Rose, who won the Belmont Oaks and Saratoga Oaks in 2019, has been retired.