Enhanced stakes schedule for New York-breds announced

The schedule of New York-bred stakes races to be run at the three New York

Racing Association (NYRA) racetracks and at Finger Lakes has a new and improved

look for 2014.

Published in advance to make it easier for owners and trainers to map out

campaigns for their horses, the 2014 stakes schedule shifts the emphasis from

overnight stakes races to a defined series of races for each age group

distributed among the three NYRA tracks (Belmont Park, Saratoga and Aqueduct)

and Finger Lakes. Exciting new developments include the addition of five new

races for two-year-olds and the introduction of a Saratoga Showcase Day.

"The New York-bred stakes program is in a class by itself," said Jeffrey

Cannizzo, Executive Director of the New York Thoroughbred Breeders Inc. "No

other region even comes near it and now, for the first time, we have a set

schedule so that horsemen and owners can target races for the entire calendar

year."

The 2014 New York racing schedule features a total of 69 New York-bred stakes

races worth $8.6 million. Fifty-four stakes worth $7,475,000 will be run at the

NYRA tracks and 15 stakes with purses of $1,125,000 will be hosted by Finger

Lakes. The purses for New York-bred stakes run by NYRA have increased by

$485,000 over 2013.

Headlining the New York-bred stakes schedule for 2014 are five new races for

two-year-olds to be hosted by NYRA, bringing the total number of stakes races

for New York-bred two-year-olds in the state to 19 with total purses of

$2,650,000. Fourteen races for New York-bred juveniles worth $2,150,000 will be

run at NYRA tracks, and five races worth $500,000 will be run at Finger Lakes.

NYRA has boosted stakes purses for New York-bred two-year-olds on its circuit by

$1,050,000.

"This is the first step in what will likely be a multi-year process," said

NYRA Senior Vice President of Racing Operations Martin Panza. "This year, we

focused on the races for two-year-olds, which seemed like a logical place to

start. In coming years, we hope to roll out similarly structured programs for

3-year-olds and for older horses of both sexes."

"Martin Panza and NYRA deserve credit for the enhancements to the New

York-bred two-year-old stakes program," Cannizzo said. "More races and bigger

purses will add to commercial appeal of New York-breds in the eyes of pinhookers

and end-users alike. Every breeder with a yearling for sale stands to benefit."

Beyond the two-year-olds, in 2014 New York-bred three-year-olds will have 14

restricted stakes on the schedule worth $1,625,000 distributed as follows: 10

races worth $1.3 million on the NYRA tracks and four races worth $325,000 at

Finger Lakes. For horses of both sexes three-years-old and up there will be 36

stakes races worth $4,325,000. Thirty of these, worth a total of $4,025,000,

will be run at NYRA tracks. Six worth $300,000 are scheduled at Finger Lakes.

Some of the marquee races for older horses have received significant purse

enhancements. On Empire Showcase Day in the fall, the Empire Classic is now

worth $300,000 and the new Empire Distaff Stakes for fillies and mares has a

purse of $250,000. On the Big Apple Showcase Day, the one-mile Commentator and

Critical Eye are each worth $200,000.

"It has now become even more lucrative to breed and own quality New

York-breds," Cannizzo said. "The money on offer here is a huge endorsement of

our breeders and breeding program."

Finally, this year for the first time Saratoga will play host to one of the

popular all New York-bred showcase cards. The new Saratoga Showcase card,

scheduled this year for August 24, the day after the Travers, will feature six

stakes races. The event is modeled on the original New York-Bred Showcase

program run at Belmont in October (now, Empire Showcase Day) and the Big Apple

Showcase card run at Belmont on the Saturday before the Belmont Stakes, which

was added to the NYRA racing calendar in 2013.

The entire stakes schedule can be viewed

here.

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