Arlington announces 2009 stakes schedule

The International Festival of Racing, featuring the 27th running of the

Arlington Million (G1), tops a 2009 schedule that includes 27 stakes races worth

$5,325,000 during 98 days of racing at Arlington Park from May 1 through

September 27. The announcement was made Tuesday following the approval of the

Illinois Racing Board at its monthly meeting.

Arlington's International Festival of Racing will be run on August 8 and

features three Grade 1 stakes, all scheduled to be run over Arlington's

internationally acclaimed turf course -- the $1,000,000 Arlington Million; the

$750,000 Beverly D. for fillies and mares; and the $400,000 Secretariat for

three-year-olds.

The Million and Secretariat are both run at North America's classic distance

of 1 1/4 miles while the Beverly D. is contested at 1 3/16 miles.

Other major event days include the American One Thousand Guineas Festival on

May 23, when there will be four stakes races worth a total of $600,000 topped by

the $200,000 American One Thousand Guineas; the $600,000 Prairie State Festival

for Illinois-breds on June 20; an expanded Million Preview Day on July 11; and

stakes tripleheaders on September 5 and Labor Day, September 7, when the track

presents its annual Turf Showcase card.

Now in its second running, the American One Thousand Guineas for

three-year-old fillies at one mile on the turf headlines the stakes-laden

program May 23 that also includes the $150,000 Arlington Classic for

three-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles on the grass, the $150,000 Arlington Matron H.

(G3) for fillies and mares at nine furlongs on the main track; and the $100,000

Hanshin Cup (G3) for older horses at a mile, also over Polytrack.

Also returning is the ninth annual Prairie State Festival, Arlington's

showcase for Illinois-bred horses featuring six $100,000 stakes races.

Illinois-owned horses will be spotlighted in $100,000 Illinois Owners S.

scheduled for opening weekend (colts and geldings) and closing weekend (fillies

and mares).

Million Preview Day, scheduled four weeks prior to the International Festival

of Racing, includes major prep races for all three International Festival

events. The $200,000 Arlington H. (G3) serves as the final local prep race for

the Arlington Million, while the $200,000 Modesty H. (G3) carries the same role

for the Beverly D. and the $300,000 American Derby (G2) leads into the

Secretariat S. The Modesty and American Derby each had its purse increased by

$50,000.

Three additional grass stakes races will be held that afternoon -- the

$200,000 Arlington Sprint at 5 1/2 furlongs and two overnight stakes races, the

$60,000 Diamond Ring for three-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles and the $60,000

Pink Ribbon for fillies and mares at five furlongs. Total purses available on

Million Preview Day top $1 million, making it the second richest day on

Arlington's 2009 calendar.

Returning to the schedule after a year's absence is the Washington Park H.

(G3), which highlights the September 5 card. The $300,000 event at 1 3/16 miles

over Polytrack will serve as a prep for the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic

(G1), which will be raced over Santa Anita's Pro-Ride synthetic surface. The

Washington Park will share top billing that afternoon with the $200,000

Arlington-Washington Futurity (G3) for two-year-olds and the $150,000

Arlington-Washington Lassie (G3) for juvenile fillies, both at a mile on the

main track.

Labor Day will be highlighted by the third annual Turf Showcase when nearly

the entire card will be raced over Arlington's world famous turf course. The

grassy program will include three stakes races -- the $200,000 Pucker Up S. (G3)

for three-year-old fillies at 1 1/8 miles; the $175,000 Stars and Stripes H.

(G3) for older horses at 1 1/2 miles; and the $150,000 Sea O Erin H. for older

horses at one mile.

Two other graded stakes will be presented during Arlington's 2009 season --

the $150,000 Chicago H. (G3) for fillies and mares at seven furlongs on

Polytrack, which will top the Independence Day holiday card on July 4, and the

$100,000 Arlington Oaks (G3) for three-year-old fillies at 1 1/8 miles on the

main track, which is scheduled for July 18.