Arlington announced 2013 stakes

The International Festival of Racing, featuring the 31st running of the Grade

1 Arlington Million, tops a 2013 schedule that includes 25 stakes races worth

$5.5 million during 89 days of racing at Arlington Park from May 3 through

September 29.

Arlington's International Festival of Racing will be on August 17 and

features five stakes races including three Grade 1 events -- the $1,000,000

Arlington Million for three-year-olds and up; the $750,000 Beverly D. for

fillies and mares, three-year-olds & up; the $500,000 Secretariat for

three-year-olds -- as well as the second edition of $400,000 American St Leger

for three-year-olds and up and the $75,000 Hatoof all scheduled to be run over

Arlington's internationally acclaimed turf course

The Million and Secretariat are both run at 1 1/4 miles while the Beverly D.

is contested at 1 3/16 miles. The American St. Leger will be carded at the

marathon distance of 1 11/16 miles and the Hatoof, previously run as an

overnight stakes race, will be run at 1 1/16 miles.

The 2013 schedule features several additional big event days that combine

multiple stakes races onto a single card.

The first of these days is scheduled for May 25, and will feature three Grade

3 events - the $150,000 Arlington Matron, for fillies and mares at 1 1/8 miles

on Polytrack, the $150,000 Hanshin Cup for older horses at a mile on the main

track and the $150,000 Arlington Classic for three-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles on

the turf.

Illinois-breds are prominent in June with a pair of stakes races restricted

to "Prairie Staters" slated for each of the month's first three Saturdays. On

June 1, state-bred three-year-olds will vie in the $100,000 Springfield and the

$100,000 Purple Violet -- each at one mile over Polytrack.

The following weekend, older sprinters will tangle in a pair of six-furlong

dashes: the $100,000 Isaac Murphy Handicap for fillies and mares and the

$100,000 Addison Cammack Handicap (formerly the White Oak) for the boys.

Finally, on June 15, turf runners will get their chance in the $100,000

Lincoln Heritage Handicap for fillies and mares and the $100,000 Black Tie

Affair for the boys, each race run at 1 1/16 miles over the lawn.

The Grade 3, $150,000 Chicago Handicap, a seven-furlong main track race, will

close out the June stakes slate on June 29.

On July 13, Million Preview Day, scheduled five weeks prior to the

International Festival of Racing, includes major prep races for four

International Festival events. The Grade 3, $200,000 Arlington Handicap serves

as the final local prep race for the Arlington Million while the Grade 3,

$200,000 Modesty Handicap plays the same role for the Beverly D. The Grade 3,

$200,000 American Derby, which is also the second leg of the Mid-America Triple,

leads into the Secretariat while the Grade 3, $150,000 Stars and Stripes Stakes

at 1 1/2 miles on the turf will serve as a feeder for the American St Leger.

As has been the case for the last several years, the top three finishers in

each of the Preview Day stakes races will have their entry and start fees waived

for the counterpart race during the International Festival of Racing.

Also to be run in July are the 2013 renewals of the $100,000 Arlington

Sprint, a 5 1/2-furlong turf dash, and the Grade 3, $150,000 Arlington Oaks at 1

1/8 miles on the main track for three-year-old fillies. The Arlington Sprint is

slated for July 6 with the local Oaks scheduled to run two weeks later on July

20.

In addition to the International Festival of Racing, the August stakes slate

includes the Grade 3, $150,000 Washington Park Handicap for older horses at 1

1/8 miles on Polytrack, which is scheduled for August 31.

Two-year-olds will be featured on September 7 when Arlington presents the

Grade 3, $150,000 Arlington-Washington Futurity for two-year-old colts and

geldings at one mile on Polytrack and the $100,000 Arlington-Washington Lassie

for two-year-old fillies at one mile on the main track.

One additional stake race is scheduled for the meet's final month -- the

Grade 3, $175,000 Pucker Up for three-year-old fillies at 1 1/8 miles on the

turf, which will be run on September 14.

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