West Virginia Derby pot gets a $150,000 raise

A significant purse increase for the West Virginia Derby is the most noteworthy change on the 2005 stakes schedule at Mountaineer Race Track. The 28-race stakes schedule is worth a total of $2,945,000.

The Grade 3 derby, scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 14, will now be worth $750,000, a boost of $150,000 from its value each of the past three years. The last time the purse for the derby was raised was 2002, when it went from $500,000 to $600,000.

Two other stakes got a $25,000 bump. The Mountaineer Mile and the West Virginia Governor's Stakes are now valued at $125,000 apiece.

Two new stakes have been added to the undercard for the West Virginia Derby, raising the number of stakes on that day's program to nine. The new stakes are the Mountaineer Juvenile and the Mountaineer Juvenile Fillies, both at six furlongs with a purse of $85,000.