A $3.4-million stakes schedule, highlighted by the $500,000 Meadowlands Breeders’ Cup (gr. II) on Oct. 5, will be offered during Meadowlands’ 41-date Thoroughbred meet that begins Sept. 3.
There will be three graded events among the 42 stakes on the New Jersey racetrack's schedule. Joining the Meadowlands Breeders’ Cup is a pair of turf events--the $150,000 Cliff Hanger Stakes (gr. IIIT) Sept. 21 and the $150,000 Violet Stakes (gr. IIIT) Sept. 28.
Another Meadowlands stakes fixture, the $250,000 Pegasus Stakes (gr. III) for 3-year-olds, will be contested Oct. 27, Breeders’ Cup day, at Monmouth Park.
Other stakes on the Meadowlands’ slate are the $200,000 NATC Futurity for 2-year-old fillies and the $200,000 NATC Futurity for male 2-year-olds, both of which are set for Sept. 29. The $200,000 Eillo Stakes, a six-furlong local prep for the TVG Breeders’ Cup Sprint (gr. I), is carded for Oct. 5.
The 2007 Thoroughbred meet opens with a special matinee card Labor Day, Sept. 3, with post time at 1:10 p.m. EDT., and runs through Nov. 10. The track will be dark Sept. 4-6 and will open for nighttime (7:30) racing Sept. 7-8.
After opening week, Meadowlands will follow a live racing schedule of Tuesday afternoons and Wednesday through Saturday nights. There will be no live racing Oct. 23-27 when Monmouth is open for Breeders’ Cup week.