NYRA releases Saratoga stakes schedule

The

146th Saratoga meet will feature a record $17.45 million in stakes

purses, topped by the $1.25 million Travers on August 23 and the $1.5 million

Whitney on August 2.

Both the 1 1/4-mile Travers for three-year-olds and the 1 1/8-mile Whitney

for three-year-olds and up received significant purse increases over their 2013

levels, having been previously worth $1 million and $750,000, respectively.

The 145th running of the Travers is one of four stakes scheduled for August

23 and shares the card with the $500,000 King's Bishop for three-year-old

sprinters, the $500,000 Ballerina for filly and mare sprinters, and the $250,000

Ballston Spa for filly and mare turf horses.

Another blockbuster day of stakes action on the schedule is August 2, with

the Whitney, one of North America's premier races for older males on the dirt,

topping a card that includes five stakes. Joining the Whitney Day program this

year will be the $500,000 Test for three-year-old fillies, the $350,000 Alfred

G. Vanderbilt Handicap for older sprinters, and the $100,000 Lure. The $100,000

De La Rose will also once again be part of the Whitney Day festivities this

year.

August 24 will be dedicated to the best New York-breds as Saratoga will host

the inaugural Saratoga Showcase Day, featuring the Albany, West Point, Yaddo,

Fleet Indian, Funny Cide, and Seeking the Ante.

In total, Saratoga will host 33 graded flat races, including 15 Grade 1

events. Opening weekend will feature the $500,000 Diana for fillies and mares on

the turf on July 19 and the $300,000 Coaching Club American Oaks for

three-year-old fillies on July 20.

Three-year-olds will have the spotlight on July 26 as they will compete in

the $600,000 Jim Dandy at 1 1/8 miles and the $200,000 Amsterdam at 6 1/2

furlongs. In the past 10 years, seven horses have used the Jim Dandy as a

springboard to a victory in the Travers.

The $500,000 Fourstardave Handicap, won the past two years by two-time

reigning Horse of the Year Wise Dan, is the featured race on August 9. The

Fourstardave is a one-mile turf race for three-year-olds and up.

The 1 1/8-mile Coaching Club American Oaks precedes the $600,000 Alabama, New

York's top race for three-year-old fillies. The 1 1/4-mile Alabama is scheduled

for August 16. $300,000 Lake Placid, also for three-year-old fillies, will be

contested on the turf as part of the Alabama undercard.

The final Saturday, August 30, will include four stakes, topped by the

$600,000 Woodward for three-year-olds and up at 1 1/8 miles. Older males also

will compete in the $500,000 Forego at seven furlongs on the main track and in

the $250,000 Bernard Baruch on the turf. Sophomore fillies will sprint in the

$300,000 Prioress.

Completing the list of Grade 1 races on the flat are the $500,000 Sword

Dancer Invitational on August 17, the $350,000 Spinaway on August 31, and the

$350,000 Hopeful on closing day, September 1.

"This exciting stakes menu will ensure that Saratoga Race Course again hosts

the finest race meeting in North America, and our enhanced Whitney Day reflects

our desire to make it one of the most significant days on the national racing

calendar," said Chris Kay, CEO and President of The New York Racing Association.

"Our new racing personnel, led by Senior Vice President of Racing Operations

Martin Panza and Racing Secretary Frank Gabriel Jr., are working every day to

improve the quality of racing -- as reflected in this powerful collection of

outstanding races."

Saratoga will also host a pair of Grade 1 steeplechase races: the $100,000

A.P. Smithwick Memorial on July 31, and the $150,000 New York Turf Writers Cup,

run in memory of Thomas H. Voss, on August 21.

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