NYRA fall meets feature changes to stakes schedules, purses

The New York Racing Association will split the Grade 1 stakes traditionally run on the same day at its Belmont Park fall meet and conduct them over two Saturdays, according to a schedule released Monday by the organization.

Two Grade 1 races – the Jockey Club Gold Cup and Flower Bowl – as well as the Grade 2 Kelso will be run Oct. 3. One week earlier on Sept. 26, the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, Vosburgh, and Beldame – all Grade 1 races – will be run along with the Grade 2 Gallant Bloom and Grade 3 Pilgrim.

Typically, all five of the aforementioned Grade 1 races and the Kelso had been run on the same card, positioned five weeks ahead of the Breeders’ Cup.

Martin Panza, NYRA’s senior vice president of racing operations, said the changes were made “out of necessity” to accommodate both the stakes schedule at Saratoga and the Breeders’ Cup, which is being run Oct. 30-31 at Keeneland.

With the Grade 1 Woodward and Grade 3 Glens Falls being run at Saratoga on Sept. 5, Panza felt it best to move the Jockey Club Gold Cup and Flower Bowl back one week.

“We wanted to give at least a month in between on both ends,” Panza said. “With the Breeders’ Cup being a week early, that forced us to rearrange the days a little bit.”

Along with the Gold Cup, Flower Bowl, and Kelso, the Oct. 3 card will include the Grade 1 Champagne, Grade 1 Frizette, and Grade 3 Hill Prince. The Flower Bowl and Frizette both had their purses cut by $100,000 and are now worth $500,000 and $400,000.

The 38-day Belmont meet, which runs Sept. 11 through Nov. 1, will offer 40 stakes worth $10.6 million, compared with 42 stakes worth $11 million in 2014. Four $100,000 overnight stakes run last year have been shelved, while three new overnight stakes on turf – the Christiecat for 3-year-old fillies at six furlongs, the Allied Forces for 3-year-old males at six furlongs, and the English Channel for 3-year-olds at a mile – have been added to the schedule.

On Nov. 4, racing moves to Aqueduct, where NYRA will offer 27 stakes worth $4.8 million through Dec. 31. In 2014, Aqueduct ran 24 stakes worth $4.9 million.

The highlight of the meet is the Nov. 28 card topped by the $500,000 Cigar Mile, the only Grade 1 race at the meet. That card includes the Grade 2 Remsen, Grade 2 Demoiselle, and Grade 3 Comely, all of which had their purses cut by $100,000 and now are worth $300,000.

The Nashua and Tempted, which serve as preps for the Remsen and Demoiselle, are run on opening day of the meet, and each had their purses cut by $50,000 to $200,000. The Grade 3 Discovery for 3-year-olds on Nov. 11 had its purse cut $50,000 to $150,000.

Two six-furlong stakes for 2-year-olds – the $150,000 Furlough for fillies Nov. 26 and the $150,000 King’s Swan for males Nov. 27 – have been added to the schedule. Also new is the $100,000 Artie Schiller for 3-year-olds and up at a mile on turf Nov. 21.