Mar 15, 2022
Chelsea Durand Photo
by Pat McKenna
40-day meetoffers 19 Grade 1s and more than $1.1 million in purse increases
The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) today announced thestakes schedule for the 40-day summer meet at historic Saratoga Race Course,which will include 77 stakes worth $22.6 million in total purses.
Highlighted by the 153rd renewal of the Grade 1, $1.25 millionRunhappy Travers on August 27 and the Grade 1, $1 million Whitney on August 6,the 2022 summer meet will open on Thursday, July 14 and continue throughMonday, September 5.
With a focus on the New York-bred program and certain categoriesof stakes races, the 2022 summer meet will feature a purse increase of morethan $1.1 million over 2021.
Saratoga Live, the acclaimed television show produced byNYRA in partnership with FOX Sports, will return for its 7th season to providedaily coverage of the summer meet to a nationwide audience on the networks ofFOX Sports. In addition to expanded national coverage of Saratoga Liveon FS1, FS2 and FOX, regional coverage will air on SNY during select hoursthroughout the summer.
Following the four-day opening weekend, racing will be conductedfive days a week, Wednesdays through Sundays, apart from the final week, whenthe meet will conclude on Labor Day.
Opening Day, Thursday, July 14, kicks off the season with theGrade 3, $175,000 Schuylerville for 2-year-old fillies and the inauguralrunning of the restricted one-mile $135,000 Wilton for sophom*ore fillies to becontested out of the reconstructed Wilson Chute.
The Wilson Chute, last in use in 1992, was named to honor thecontributions of the late Richard T. Wilson, a banker and President of theSaratoga Racing Association for most of the first quarter of the 20th century.The reconstructed Wilson Chute will carefully follow the route of the originalchute along the Clubhouse Turn just to the west of the 1863 Club and marks thereturn of one-mile races on the Saratoga main track.
Opening Weekend continues Friday, July 15, with the Grade 3, $175,000Forbidden Apple at one mile on turf for older horses, and the $150,000Coronation Cup at 5 1/2-furlongs on turf for sophom*ore fillies.
Saratoga's first Grade 1 of 2022 is the $500,000 Diana for turffillies and mares on Saturday, July 16, topping a card supported by the Grade3, $175,000 Sanford at six furlongs for juveniles. Opening Weekend concludes onSunday, July 17, with the Grade 3, $175,000 Quick Call presented by theThoroughbred Retirement Foundation for 3-year-olds going 5 1/2 furlongs on thegrass.
The following Saturday, July 23, will see the Grade 1, $500,000Coaching Club American Oaks for sophom*ore fillies take center stage, headlininga card that also offers the Grade 3, $200,000 Caress, a 5 1/2-furlong turfsprint for older fillies and mares.
Whitney Day on Saturday, August 6, will feature three Grade 1events, led by the Whitney at 1 1/8 miles for older horses offering anautomatic berth to the Breeders' Cup Classic on November 5 at Keeneland.
Completing the trio of Grade 1s on Whitney Day will be theseven-furlong $500,000 Longines Test for sophom*ore fillies and the $1 millionCaesars Saratoga Derby Invitational, the second jewel of the Caesars TurfTriple series at 1 3/16-miles for sophom*ores. Whitney Day will also include the12-furlong Grade 2, $250,000 Glens Falls for older fillies and mares on turf,and the restricted $135,000 Fasig-Tipton Lure at 1 1/16-miles on turf for olderhorses.
Whitney weekend kicks off August 5, with the Grade 2, $200,000National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame for sophom*ore turf milers; the Grade 3,$300,000 Troy, which boasts a purse increase of $100,000, for 4-year-olds andup going 5 1/2 furlongs on the turf; and the restricted $135,000 Alydar at ninefurlongs for older horses.
Whitney weekend concludes on August 7 with three stakeshighlighted by the Grade 3, $700,000 Saratoga Oaks Invitational, the second legof the Turf Triple series for sophom*ore fillies. The August 7 card alsoincludes the Grade 3, $200,000 Adirondack, a 6 1/2-furlong sprint for juvenilefillies, and the restricted $135,000 Fasig-Tipton De La Rose at one mile onturf for older fillies and mares.
New York-breds will take center stage on Friday, August 26, forNew York Showcase Day, featuring six stakes for state-breds worth a combined$1.25 million. The card is headlined by the $250,000 Albany, a nine-furlongtest for sophom*ores. Also featured are five $200,000 stakes including the FleetIndian for sophom*ore fillies; the Funny Cide presented by Rood and RiddleEquine Hospital for juvenile sprinters; and the Seeking the Ante for juvenilefilly sprinters. The lucrative New York Showcase Day card also sees two stakesgarner a $50,000 purse boost in the $200,000 West Point Handicap presented byTrustco Bank for 3-year-olds and up; and the $200,000 Yaddo Handicap forfillies and mares 3-years-old and up.
The 153rd edition of the Runhappy Travers is the centerpiece of ablockbuster day of racing on Saturday, August 27. The 2022 Travers Day cardwill include six stakes, including five Grade 1 events and an automatic berthin the Breeders’ Cup to the winner of the Grade 1, $750,000 Resorts WorldCasino Sword Dancer [Turf].
In addition, the Travers Day card will also include the Grade 1,$600,000 Personal Ensign at nine-furlongs for older fillies and mares; theGrade 1, $600,000 Forego, a seven-furlong sprint for 4-year-olds and upward,and the Grade 1, $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial for 3-year-olds going sevenfurlongs. Rounding out the signature day at the Spa is the Grade 2, $400,000Ballston Spa at 1 1/16-miles for turf fillies and mares.
Runhappy Travers Weekend concludes Sunday, August 28, with a pairof stakes led by the Grade 1, $500,000 Ballerina, a seven-furlong sprint forfillies and mares 3-years-old and up that offers a “Win and You’re In” berth tothe Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint; and the restricted $135,000 BetterTalk Now at one mile on turf for sophom*ores.
The traditional local prep for the Runhappy Travers, the Grade 2,$600,000 Jim Dandy, will be held on Saturday, July 30. It will be joined by theGrade 1, $350,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap, a six-furlong sprint for3-year-olds and up. Closing out Jim Dandy weekend on July 31 is the Grade 2,$250,000 Bowling Green at 1 3/8 miles on the turf; and the Grade 2, $200,000Amsterdam for 3-year-olds at 6 1/2 furlongs.
New York-breds will also be highlighted on Friday, August 12 withfour handicaps each boasting a purse increase of $25,000 to $125,000, includingthe Evan Shipman at one-mile for 3-year-olds and up; the John Morrissey at sixfurlongs for 3-year-olds and up; the six-furlong Union Avenue for fillies andmares 3-years-old and up; and the Johnstone Mile, previously the nine-furlongSaratoga Dew, for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up.
The Johnstone Mile, to be run out of the Wilson Chute, is named inhonor of the longtime horseman and NYRA employee Bruce Johnstone who passed atage 76 in February 2020 following a lengthy battle against cancer. Johnstonetransitioned from a successful career as a trainer to management at NYRA, wherehe spent the last 13 years of his career as Manager of Racing Operations.
Saratoga will also pay tribute to the late Suzie O’Cain onWednesday, July 20 with a 1 1/16-mile turf event for state-bred sophom*orefillies. The $125,000 Suzie O’Cain was previously run as the Stillwater.
O’Cain, who passed away in January following a battle with breastcancer, and her husband, Dr. C. Lynwood O’Cain, managed the late Carl Lizza’sHighcliff Farm in Delanson, N.Y. for more than 20 years. O’Cain also served onthe Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation’s Board of Directors and wasco-chairwoman of the New York Thoroughbred Breeders’ (NYTB) Political ActionCommittee and chairwoman of the NYTB Media Committee.
A day later, the third running of the $125,000 Rick Violette at 11/16-miles on turf for state-bred sophom*ores will honor the late NYRA horsemanand former president of the New York Thoroughbred Horsem*n's Association.
Among the other Grade 1 races at the Spa will be the $150,000 A.P.Smithwick Memorial on July 20, and the $150,000 Jonathan Sheppard on August 17for steeplechasers; the $600,000 Alabama on Saturday, August 20; and the$500,000 Fourstardave Handicap, a Breeders' Cup qualifier for the Mile, onSaturday, August 13, to be held on the same card as the Grade 2, $200,000Saratoga Special.
Closing Weekend of the Saratoga meet will feature a pair ofBreeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” events on Saturday, September 3, led by theGrade 1, $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup [Classic] at 10 furlongs for3-year-olds and up. Should a Grade/Group 1 winner start in the 2022 Jockey ClubGold Cup, the purse will be increased to $1.25 million. In addition, the firstfour placings of the Grade 2, $400,000 Suburban Handicap on July 9 at BelmontPark will have their nomination, entry and starting fees waived should theystart in the Jockey Club Gold Cup.
The September 3 card also includes the Grade 2, $600,000 FlowerBowl, an 11-furlong turf test for older fillies and mares offering a berth inthe Filly and Mare Turf; along with the Grade 3, $200,000 Saranac.
On Sunday, September 4, 2-year-old fillies will sprint sevenfurlongs in the Grade 1, $300,000 Spinaway.
Closing Day on Monday, September 5, will feature the Grade 3,$200,000 Bernard Baruch Handicap along with the prestigious Grade 1, $300,000Hopeful for 2-year-olds going seven furlongs to conclude the 154th Saratogameeting.
To view the complete stakes schedule for the 2022 summer meet,visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/stakes-schedu....
