PHOENIX – The ramifications of COVID and continued squabbling between track management and horsemen led to a shorter-than-usual Turf Paradise meet last season and there were concerns whether a 2021-22 season would follow. Well, an agreement between horsemen and the track not only means the Phoenix track will raise its curtain Friday, it will do so with an added bonus. A purse increase will greet horsemen as the track commences its 67th meeting, a 125-day stand running through May 7. Racing will be held primarily Monday through Friday, though there will be live racing this Saturday, Breeders’ Cup Day, as well as Kentucky Derby Day, May 7. Overnight purses will get a 30 percent hike while the stakes program will receive a boost of over $1 million. “The increases are a result of state and federal subsidies for horsemen’s purses,” said track general manager Vince Francia. In the stakes division, the track’s marquee dirt event, the Phoenix Gold Cup, and its marquee turf event, the Cotton Fitzsimmons Mile, have been raised from $75,000 to $100,000. The Arizona Oaks and Turf Paradise Derby have been increased from $50,000 to $75,000. Fifteen additional stakes have been boosted to black-type status of $60,000. “What better way to start a race meet than with a simulcast of the Breeders’ Cup and a record raise in purses,” said Francia. :: Bet the races with confidence on DRF Bets. You're one click away from the only top-rated betting platform fully integrated with exclusive data, analysis, and expert picks. First post is 12:40 p.m. (through Feb. 11), 12:55 p.m. (through March 11), then 1:25 p.m. through May 6. A special first post of 12:20 p.m. is set for Nov. 6 (Breeders’ Cup Day) and 11:30 a.m. May 7 (Kentucky Derby Day). Mills tops opening day The $60,000 Hank Mills Sr., a 6 1/2-furlong event for 3-year-olds and upward, kicks off the stakes action Friday as race 7 on an eight-race card. A field of nine entered headed by Southern California raider The Chosen Vron. Owned by Eric Kruljac, Robert Fetkin, John Sondereker, and Richard Thornburgh and trained by Kruljac, The Chosen Vron, a 3-year-old son of Vronsky, rattled off three straight wins including two Grade 3’s in the spring. He last ran second in a dirt sprint stakes at Del Mar July 30, beaten by None Above the Law, who came back to win the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby. He landed the rail with Harry Hernandez aboard. His main rival figures to be Minister of Soul. The 7-year-old son of Ministers Wild Cat, owned and trained by Esteban Martinez, has won six of nine here, including multiple stakes. He comes into this off three straight wins at Canterbury Park this summer. Other contenders include El Chavo Del Ocho, second in this race Jan. 21; Swift as I Am, winner of his last three in Northern California; and Race Home, a winner of three straight earlier this year, the first three of those wins coming here.