Churchill schedules eight stakes for historic September meet

Churchill schedules eight stakes for historic September

meet

The first September racing meet in the 139-year history of

Churchill Downs racetrack -- 12 days of racing dubbed the "Homecoming

Meet" -- will feature eight stakes races with total purses of nearly $1 million.

The inaugural schedule is headed by a pair of important events for two-year-olds

-- the Grade 2, $150,000 Pocahontas and Grade 3, $150,000 Iroquois -- and a new stakes race for older horses designed as a prep for the $5 million

Breeders' Cup Classic and the Grade 1, $400,000 Clark Handicap, which will be run beneath the Twin Spires in

late November.

The first Homecoming Meet at Churchill Downs will open on

September 6 and continue through September 29. Racing will be conducted

on a Friday-through-Sunday schedule during each of its four weeks, with "Downs

After Dark" night racing celebrations scheduled for two Saturdays -- September 7 and

28.

The $175,000 Homecoming Classic, a 1 1/8-mile race

for three-year-olds and up on the main track, is the only new event on the

Homecoming Meet's inaugural schedule of eight stakes races with total purses of

$975,000. It is one of two stakes contests set for the meet's second "Downs

After Dark" program on September 28. The seven remaining events on the September

meet's stakes schedule have previously been run during either its spring or fall

meets.

"Our Churchill Downs team is looking forward to the new

Homecoming Meet and the opportunity to offer new racing and entertainment

opportunities to fans, families, businesses and horsemen during a time of year

in which the weather is usually the best our region offers," said Kevin Flanery,

president of Churchill Downs racetrack.

"Racing Secretary Ben Huffman has worked

to fashion a schedule of compelling stakes events and an attractive roster of

daily racing opportunities that provide owners and trainers with a wide range of

competitive options for their horses."

The Homecoming Meet's opening weekend "Downs After Dark"

celebration on September 7 will feature four stakes events topped by the

44th running of the Pocahontas for two-year-old fillies, and the

Iroquois for juveniles set for its 32nd running. Both races

are Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" events and the winners of the

Pocahontas and Iroquois will earn starting spots in the respective fields for

the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and $2 million Juvenile

in early November at Santa Anita.

Both the Pocahontas and the Iroquois were transferred from

the positions in the Churchill Downs fall meet to the new Homecoming session.

The distance of each race has been increased from one mile to 1 1/16 miles and

the purse of the Iroquois was increased by $50,000.

Other stakes events on the September 7 evening program are the

21st running of the Grade 3, $100,000 Ack Ack Handicap for three-year-olds and

up at one mile and the $100,000 Locust Grove for distaffers at 1 1/16 miles on the main track. The Ack Ack, like the Pocahontas and

Iroquois, was moved from its spot on the fall meet stakes schedule to the new

meeting. The Locust Grove, which was previously run during the spring meet and

most recently at a mile on turf, returns from a two-year absence and has been

refashioned as a race on the main track.

The six-furlong, $100,000 Open Mind for fillies and

mares, three-year-olds and up, a race previously run during the spring meet, is scheduled to

be run on September 14. The Open Mind was most recently run in 2007 and

originated as a five-furlong race for three-year-old fillies on turf.

The $100,000 Dogwood, a one-mile race for sophomore fillies, will be run for the 38th time on September 21. Previously run

during the spring meet, the Dogwood returns to the Churchill Downs schedule

after a one-year break.

Joining the inaugural Homecoming Classic on the night

racing program on September 28 will be the 37th running of the $100,000 Jefferson Cup, a Grade

3 race for three-year-olds at one mile on turf. The

Jefferson Cup, run most recently in 2011 at a distance of 1 1/16 miles on grass,

was a spring meet attraction in its earlier renewals.

Seating for the September 7 and 28 "Downs After Dark"

celebrations and other racing programs scheduled during the first Homecoming

Meet at Churchill Downs is available for purchase online at

ChurchillDowns.com.

CHURCHILL DOWNS HOMECOMING MEET STAKES SCHEDULE September 6-29

DATE

RACE

GENDER

AGE

DIST

TRACK

PURSE

9/7

Iroquois (G3)

Open

2YO

1 1/16

Dirt

$150,000

Pocahontas (G2)

Fillies

2YO

1 1/16

Dirt

$150,000

Locust Grove

F & M

3&Up

1 1/16

Dirt

$100,000

Ack Ack H. (G3)

Open

3&Up

Mile

Dirt

$100,000

9/14

Open Mind

F & M

3&Up

6 furlongs

Dirt

$100,000

9/21

Dogwood

Fillies

3YO

7 furlongs

Dirt

$100,000

9/28

Homecoming Classic

Open

3&Up

1 1/8

Dirt

$175,000

Jefferson Cup (G3)

Open

3YO

Mile

Turf

$100,000

TOTAL PURSES

$975,000

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