NYRA releases Belmont, Saratoga stakes schedules

On Thursday the New York Racing Association (NYRA) released the stakes

schedules for the 2011 Belmont Park spring/summer meet and the 2011 Saratoga

Race Course meet.

As always, the Belmont spring/summer meet is highlighted by the $1 million

Belmont S. (G1). The 1 1/2-mile "Test of the Champion," which serves as the

culminating event in racing's Triple Crown and has a new television home on the

NBC Sports Group, will be held on June 11 as the pinnacle of an all-star stakes

card. The other five stakes events on the day include the $400,000 Manhattan H.

(G1) for older horses on the turf, $400,000 Just a Game (G1) for turf distaffers

and $300,000 Acorn S. (G1) for sophomore fillies. A pair of sprints, $250,000

True North H. (G2) for older horses at six furlongs and the $250,000 Woody

Stephens S. (G2) for 3-year-olds going seven furlongs, complete the graded

action on the Belmont undercard.

Belmont's Grade 1 season commences on Memorial Day, May 30, with the $500,000

Metropolitan H., one of the premier dirt mile races in the world. Other Grade 1

events during the spring/summer meet include the $250,000 Ogden Phipps H. for

fillies and mares on June 18, the $250,000 Mother Goose S. for three-year-old

fillies set for June 25 and the $600,000 Man o' War S. on the turf scheduled for

July 9.

The main change to the Belmont spring/summer stakes schedule is the addition

of a pair of Grade 2 juvenile races, the Futurity and Matron, which will return

from a one-year hiatus and be run on July 3. Formerly held during the Belmont

fall championship meet, both races will now be contested at six furlongs and

carry purses of $150,000, with the Matron restricted to two-year-old fillies.

The other two additions to the Belmont spring/summer stakes schedule are the

$200,000 Peter Pan S. (G2) for three-year-olds, which will be run on May 14, and

the $100,000 Poker H. (G3) on the turf, to be run June 10. Both races were on

hiatus in 2010.

The Saratoga meet, which kicks off for the 143rd time on July 22, is

punctuated by 17 Grade 1 races beginning with the $250,000 Coaching Club

American Oaks for three-year-old fillies on opening weekend, and includes at

least one Grade 1 race every Saturday during its 40-day schedule.

In addition to the historic CCA Oaks on July 23, opening weekend at Saratoga

also features a terrific slate of races including the $100,000 Schuylerville S.

(G3) for two-year-old fillies on July 22, the $150,000 Sanford S. (G2) for

juveniles on July 24 and the Evan Shipman, a $75,000 stakes for New York-bred

three-year-olds and up on July 25.

July 30 features the $500,000 Diana S. (G1) for turf distaffers and the

$500,000 Jim Dandy S. (G2) for sophomores. On July 31, the $250,000 Ruffian H.

(G1) for fillies and mares on the dirt and $150,000 Fourstardave H. (G2) on the

turf will be showcased.

The following Saturday, August 6, boasts a pair of Grade 1 races in the

$750,000 Whitney H. for older horses and $250,000 Test S. for three-year-old

fillies. On August 7, the $250,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. (G2) and $150,000

Honorable Miss H. (G2) for sprinters will be contested.

The Sword Dancer Invitational (G1) on the turf will be held August 13, and

the Alabama S. (G1) for sophomore fillies will be run on August 20. Each is

worth $500,000.

The $1 million Travers S. (G1), scheduled for August 27, is the highlight of

an unparalleled day of racing at Saratoga. The 1 1/4-mile "Mid-Summer Derby"

heads a card that includes a trio of prestigious dirt sprints in the $250,000

King's Bishop S. (G1) for three-year-olds, $250,000 Ballerina S. (G1) for

distaffers and $100,000 Victory Ride S. (G3) for three-year-old fillies. The

$200,000 Ballston Spa S. (G2) for fillies and mares on the turf rounds out the

sensational day of racing.

Travers weekend is bookended with the $200,000 Bernard Baruch H. (G2) for

turf runners on August 26 and the $300,000 Personal Ensign S. (G1) for dirt

distaffers on August 28.

The Saratoga meet concludes on Labor Day weekend with the $750,000 Woodward

S. (G1) and $250,000 Forego S. (G1), both for three-year-olds and up, on

September 3; the $250,000 Spinaway S. (G1) for two-year-old fillies and $100,000

Saranac S. (G3) for three-year-old turf runners on September 4; and the $250,000

Hopeful S. (G1) for juveniles and $100,000 Glens Falls S. (G3) for turf

distaffers September 5.

Stakes purses for the 2011 Saratoga Meet total just over $10.9 million, with

the only change from last year being a $50,000 increase to the With Anticipation

in line with its upgrade to Grade 2 status. There were no substantive changes to

the Saratoga schedule for the year.