Parx cancels all open stakes, including Pennsylvania Derby and Cotillion

Parx Racetrack near Philadelphia, Pa., has canceled all of its open stakes races for the remainder of the year, including its two marquee races, the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby and $1 million Cotillion Stakes, both scheduled for Sept. 26, the Thoroughbred Daily News reported.

The two $1 million races were part of a slate of five stakes races scheduled for Sept. 26, on a date in which the Pennsylvania Derby and the Cotillion could traditionally expect to draw top-class 3-year-old colts and fillies pointing to the Breeders’ Cup in late October and early November.

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However, the disruption to racing schedules created by the COVID-19 pandemic, plus the months-long closure of a casino at the track that generates millions of dollars in purse subsidies, have led the track to cancel all of its open stakes races, according to the TDN.

“We will not be running any open stakes races this year,” racing secretary David Osojnak said, according to the TDN report. “We will be going on hiatus. The virus, the plague, just wiped everything out. We think we will be able to come back stronger in 2021.”

Osojnak did not return a phone message left on his cell phone. Representatives of Parx’s horsemen’s group did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Among the other open stakes canceled by Parx were the Grade 3 Turf Amazon Stakes, Grade 3 Parx Dirt Mile, and the Grade 2 Gallant Bob, all of which have also served as Breeders’ Cup preps in recent years.

This year, the Kentucky Derby has been rescheduled for Sept. 5, and the Kentucky Oaks has been rescheduled for Sept. 4. Aside from the Triple Crown, very few top-class Thoroughbreds return to racing on three weeks’ rest, especially in the fall, when horses are prepping for the rich Breeders’ Cup races. In addition, the Preakness Stakes has been rescheduled for Oct. 3.

Osojnak told the TDN that the purses for the open stakes would be diverted to the track’s overnight racing program. A number of racetracks, including Arlington Park in Illinois, Penn National in Pennsylvania, and Mountaineer Park in West Virginia, have canceled rich stakes races this year in order to focus on overnight stakes, which generally benefit horsemen based at the track.

Parx’s website still includes stakes nomination forms for five $80,000 stakes races for Pennsylvania-bred horses, all to be run on Sept. 7.