Turf Cup moved up for Hollywood fall meet

The $250,000 Hollywood Turf Cup has been moved from its traditional date in early December to Nov. 23 for the upcoming autumn meeting at Hollywood Park.

The earlier date for the Grade 1 Turf Cup is the most significant change in the stakes schedule for the fall meeting, which runs from Nov. 6 to Dec. 21.

The Turf Cup will be held four weeks after the $2 million Breeders' Cup Turf at Arlington Park on Oct. 26. By running the Turf Cup in November, Hollywood Park officials are hoping the turf course will be in better shape and will not have taken too much rain.

The Turf Cup program will be the first major day of the meeting and will include the Grade 3 Hollywood Prevue Stakes for 2-year-olds over seven furlongs and the $100,000 On Trust Handicap for California-breds.

The Prevue Stakes and the Matiara Stakes for 3-year-old fillies on Nov. 9 are each worth $125,000, $25,000 more than last year.

The focus of the meeting is the six-race Autumn Turf Festival from Nov. 29-Dec. 1. The Dec. 1 program includes the $500,000 Hollywood Derby and $500,000 Matriarch Stakes for fillies and mares.

In December, the Grade 1 Hollywood Starlet for 2-year-old fillies and the Grade 1 Hollywood Futurity will be run on separate weekends instead of consecutive days as in the past. The Starlet is on Dec. 14, the Futurity seven days later.