Man o’ War, Peter Pan get purse hikes

The Grade 1 Man o’ War and the Grade 3 Peter Pan both received significant purse increases and are part of a five-stakes card May 12 at Belmont Park as the New York Racing Association seeks to add another big day to the Belmont spring-summer meet.

The Man o’ War, for older horses at 1 3/8 miles on the turf, had its purse increased to $700,000 from $400,000, and the Peter Pan, for 3-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles on dirt, had its purse raised to $350,000 from $200,000. The two races are part of a May 12 card that has five stakes worth a total of $1.6 million. The Grade 3, $200,000 Vagrancy, for female sprinters, was moved to that card, supplanting the Grade 2, $250,000 Ruffian, which was moved to May 6. Also to be run May 12 day are the Grade 3, $200,000 Beaugay for female turf horses and the $150,000 Runhappy (formerly the Diablo) for older male sprinters, which both received $50,000 purse hikes.

The Man o’ War gives horses a lucrative stepping-stone toward the Grade 1, $1 million Manhattan, while the Peter Pan has historically been the local prep for the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes, the third leg of the Triple Crown. Those two races are part of a June 9 program that will have 10 stakes races and is typically the highlight of the Belmont spring-summer meet. Tickets for the three-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival (June 7-9) will go on sale Jan. 25.

The Grade 2 Jaipur, a popular turf sprint stakes for males on the Belmont Stakes undercard, received a $100,000 purse hike to $400,000. Conversely, the Grade 2 Woody Stephens, for 3-year-old dirt sprinters, had its purse reduced by $100,000 to $400,000.

The Grade 2 New York Stakes, for females at 1 1/4 miles on turf, had its purse increased to $600,000 from $500,000 and is part of a five-stakes program June 8, part of the three-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival. As recently as 2011, the purse for the New York was $150,000.

The Grade 3 Dwyer Stakes, another race for 3-year-olds at a one mile, had its purse reduced to $300,000 from $400,000. That race is part of a July 7 Stars and Stripes card that is topped by the $1.2 million Belmont Derby, for 3-year-olds on turf, and the $1 million Belmont Oaks, for 3-year-old fillies on turf. The Grade 2 Suburban, also July 7, had its purse cut by $50,000 to $700,000.

The 54-day Belmont springsummer meet runs from April 27 through July 15.