Purses will get a boost when Saratoga opens

ELMONT, N.Y. – The New York Racing Association will increase purses while also reconfiguring purse distribution when the Saratoga meet opens July 20.

Purses for maiden, allowance, starter allowance, and most claiming races for winners will each increase by $2,000, according to Martin Panza, senior director of racing operations for the New York Racing Association.

“The purse account is very healthy at the moment. It’s time to disperse some of that money,” Panza said. “We’re generating more than we’re giving out.”

The Saratoga condition book was put online Friday morning.

Claiming races where the purse-to-claim ratio is 2-to-1 will not have a purse increase. That rule was put in place by the New York Gaming Commission in late 2012 on recommendation of a safety task force that investigated a rash of breakdowns at the 2011-12 Aqueduct winter meet. That winter, in some cases, the purse-to-claim ratio was 4-to-1.

Panza said NYRA, in conjunction with the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association and the New York Thoroughbred Breeders, plan to petition the New York Gaming Commission later to change the purse-to-claim ratio to at least 2.7-to-1, to make it more on par with other states.

Meanwhile, the way purse money will be distributed will change at all three NYRA tracks beginning with the Saratoga meet. Winners will get 55 percent of the purse, down from 60 percent that is currently awarded. Second-place money remains at 20 percent, while third place will now get 12 percent, up from 10 percent. Fourth- and fifth-place finishers will get 6 percent and 4 percent, respectively, a 1 percent increase from what is currently awarded. Runners finishing sixth through last will split 3 percent of the purse instead of 2 percent.

Panza said that the Racing Committee of the NYRA board of directors “felt that our purses are so large already that it was better to disperse the money on a little more equitable basis.”

Joe Appelbaum, president of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, said his group supports the new purse distribution.

“We think it’ll be helpful, giving more people an opportunity to compete, and hopefully attract some more outfits and horses here,” Appelbaum said. “It’s another step that NYRA’s doing to make things more amenable, more attractive for small and midsize outfits.”