Tag: Hopeful Stakes

Summer at Saratoga features 77 stakes races worth $22.6 million over 40 days. (Image: Chelsea Durand)

Saratoga Offers Up 19 Grade 1 Stakes, Increased $22.6 Million Purse

- 3 min read

Along with a purse boost of $1.1 million from 2021, the New York Racing Association announced Saratoga Race Course’s 2022 stakes schedule Tuesday. The schedule features 77 stakes spread over the 40-day meet, where horsemen and women will race for $22.6 million in purses. Headlining that stakes schedule as always is the […]

Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. salutes Wit after piloting the 2-year-old to an eight-length Sanford Stakes victory in July. Wit is the 7/5 favorite to win the Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes on Saratoga's Monday closing card. (Image: Janet Garaguso/Coglianese Photos)

Remain Hopeful About Juvenile Derby Candidates in the Hopeful Stakes

- 3 min read

By several hours, the Hopeful Stakes get the honor of being the first Grade 1 of the year for 2-year-old males. That means it gives horseplayers the first glimpse of possible 2022 Kentucky Derby contenders. In this edition of the 117-year-old, seven-furlong sprint on Saratoga’s closing day, you get 11 […]

New York bettors now have access to Kentucky Downs' six-day meet. The entity signed an 11th-hour agreement with the New York Racing Association opening up wagering to New York bettors. (Image: Coady Photography)

Kentucky Downs, NYRA Reach Agreement, New York Wagering Welcome

- 2 min read

One day before Kentucky Downs begins its six-day meet, the track reached an agreement with the New York Racing Association that opens up wagering to NYRA’s markets and platforms. The late agreement means NYRA, its racetracks and its NYRA Bets advance deposit wagering (ADW) platform can access the track’s races. […]

Due to a contract impasse, horseplayers at the three NYRA tracks, including Saratoga, won't be able to bet on Kentucky Downs races during the all-turf track's six-day meet. (Image: Kentucky Downs)

Kentucky Downs Shuts Out NYRA Bettors

- 2 min read

Due to a contract impasse, bettors at New York Racing Association tracks and NYRA Bets account holders won’t be able to wager on the upcoming Kentucky Downs meet. That shuts out the country’s fourth-largest advance deposit wagering (ADW) platform from access to the six-day, all-turf boutique meet. Kentucky Downs opens […]

Wit breezed to an eight-length victory in Saturday's Sanford Stakes at Saratoga. He vaulted to the front of 2022 Kentucky Derby prospects, winning his two races by a combined 14 lengths. (Image: Susie Raisher/Coglianese Photos)

Wit Shows He’s No Joke as a Promising 2022 Kentucky Derby Prospect

- 3 min read

It’s never too early to put promising 2-year-olds on your Kentucky Derby radar screen, which is why it’s time to say hello to one of the most promising juveniles of 2021 – Wit. The Todd Pletcher charge graduated to graded stakes champion on Saturday, capturing the Grade 3 Sanford Stakes […]

Saratoga's 40-day 2021 meet features 76 stakes races. The upstate New York track runs Wednesday-Sunday most weeks during the summer. (Image: NYRA)

Saratoga Adds Two Grade 1s to Stakes-Loaded 2021 Meet

- 3 min read

The tradition-rich Saratoga Race Course meet just picked up two more tradition-rich races for its 40-day summer meet, which the New York Racing Association announced Friday. The $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup and the $600,000 Flower Bowl move from Belmont Park to the Spa, where they will anchor Saratoga’s […]

Jackie's Warrior's impressive win in the Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes put him at the front of the line of 2021 Kentucky Derby contenders. (Image: Dom Napoiltano/Coglianese Photography)

Get to Know These 2-Year-Old Future Kentucky Derby Hopefuls

- 3 min read

Say “hello” to Jackie’s Warrior, Dr. Schivel, Freedom Fighter, and Sittin on Go. You may not know much about them right now, but you’ll be hearing a lot more about these four — and other 2-year-olds — over the next seven months. Ignore for the moment the 2020 Kentucky Derby […]

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