Turf Cup among stakes dropped at Hollywood

The Grade 1 Hollywood Turf Cup is one of five six-figure stakes that have been cut from the stakes schedule of the Hollywood Park fall meeting, the track announced on Friday.

The Turf Cup, run over 1 1/2 miles, carried a purse of $250,000 in 2008. It was slashed along with the $150,000 Dahlia Handicap, the $150,000 Turf Express, and two $100,000 races for 2-year-olds - the Sharp Cat and Real Quiet stakes.

Track officials said those races have been "suspended," with the purse money reallocated to overnight purses.

In addition, the track has eliminated six stakes worth $65,000 each and significantly changed the Autumn Turf Festival on Thanksgiving weekend. Aside from eliminating one of the festival races, the Grade 3 Turf Express, Hollywood reduced the purses of three Grade 1 races to $300,000. The Citation Handicap is down $100,000 from 2008, while the Hollywood Derby and Matriarch Stakes have been cut by $200,000 each.

The Matriarch has been moved from Sunday to Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend, while the Miesque Stakes will be part of the undercard of a Sunday program highlighted by the Hollywood Derby.

The track will run 14 stakes worth $2.85 million during the 27-day meeting. The season is 13 days shorter than the 2008 meeting.

The richest race of the meeting will be the $750,000 CashCall Futurity for 2-year-olds over 1 1/16 miles on Dec. 19. The race is sponsored by the company founded by owner Paul Reddam.