Saratoga gets greener
It took longer than usual, but the stakes schedule for Saratoga 151 has at last been announced.
As r umored, the meet will begin eight days earlier than it has been starting in recent years. Opening Day, July 11, will feature the traditional Schuylerville Stakes for 2- year- old fillies, with the Quick Call – upgraded to Grade 3 for 2019 – also on the program. Altogether the meet will offer 76 stakes with purses totaling $20.85 million.
The most significant change to the Saratoga schedule is the addition of two 1 3/16-mile turf races for 3-year- olds, the $1 million Saratoga Derby on Aug. 4 and the $750k Saratoga Oaks on Aug. 2.
The two events form the middle legs of what is called the Turf Trinity for males and the Turf Tiara for fillies. The first legs of the series, which were initially run in 2014, consist of the Belmont Derby and Belmont Oaks, and take place at Belmont Park on Fourth of July weekend. The third and final legs, consisting of the Jockey Club Derby and Jockey Club Oaks, will be run for the first time on Sept. 7 at Belmont.
In a release last week, Martin Panza, NYRA Senior Vice President of Racing Operations, explained the thinking behind the new turf series.
“As American racing moves more toward the turf, both series of races should enhance the value of turf stallions, mares and quality turf runners. If this helps farms, breeders, sales companies and owners, while at the same time providing an exciting new
racing event for race fans to follow, then our efforts will be well rewarded.”
Panza is certainly correct that turf racing is on the rise, in the U. S. in general and at Saratoga in particular. Last year, for the first time, turf races made up 40 percent of all national graded stakes. At Saratoga, approximately half of all races in recent years have been run on grass. Of the 74 non-steeplechase stakes at the Spa this summer, nearly half (36 of 74) are scheduled for turf.
Turf’s influence on American breeding hasn’t come close to matching its growing influence on American racing. Kitten’s Joy, for ex- ample, is the most successful turf sire standing on this side of the Atlantic. The 18-year- old grandson of the great Sadler’s Wells has finished in the top five in overall progeny earnings every year since 2013. He has sired the winners of 65 graded races on grass, including 20 G1s. Although Kitten’s Joy’s influence has been considerably less internationally, he is the sire of Roaring Lion, the 2018 European Horse of the Year.
For all that, however, Kitten’s Joy is not especially popular at sales. His average yearling last year sold for $107,378, a fraction of the figure for popular, primarily dirt stallions like Medaglia d’Oro ($598,571), Tapit ($536,923) and Curlin ($438,738).
In part because of the lack of emphasis on domestic turf breeding, foreign-bred horses – most of them with American connections – continue to play a major role in U. S. grass racing. Last year, in what was likely a new record, foreign- breds won 20 of 35 American turf Grade 1s. They included horses bred in Ireland, England, Germany, France, Argentina, Chile and Japan.
Can creative initiatives like the Turf Trinity and Turf Tiara have a significant impact on grass racing and breeding in the U. S? They certainly can’t hurt. Who knows? Even though a million- dollar purse isn’t the lure it was once, maybe the Trinity and Tiara will inspire a few European horsemen to ship across the water, to see what all the fuss is about at Saratoga.