Edited Saratoga Report
Saratoga Race Course’s 36-day meet will get off to a strong start July 29 with a card highlighted by full fields on both the dirt and turf, 2-year-old races, and two stakes, including the $100,000 Schuylerville (gr. III).
Saratoga’s opening day card features a full slate of 10 races with 134 entries and $557,700 in total purses. Six of the 10 races are oversubscribed, with 27 alternate entries carded for the day. On average, there were 13.4 horses entered per race.
The fully-stocked card features dirt, turf, juvenile, and New York-bred races, as well as sprints and routes. Broken down by class, the card features two stakes, three allowances, three maiden special weights, and two claimers.
“Saratoga is the premier racing meet in North America, and our opening day card is reflective of that,” said Paul J. Campo, vice president and director of racing for The New York Racing Association. “The three juvenile races with strong fields are a very positive indicator for the overall quality of the meet. In addition, we had a record number of Saratoga stall applications with more than 3,500.”
The 2009 Saratoga meet will run Wednesday through Monday, six days a week through Labor Day, Sept. 7. The meet will feature 34 graded races, including 15 grade I stakes. Shadwell Travers Day is set for Aug. 29, with five graded races including the Grade 1, $1 Million Travers (gr. I), $300,000 NetJets King’s Bishop, and $300,000 Ballerina.