NYRA Boosts Purses Ahead of Saratoga Summer Meet

On June 24, 2022, the New York Racing Association announced that this year’s summer meet at Saratoga Race Course will offer even greater purses. The organization revealed that purses for the meet will be increased of more than US$1.6 million, which sets up yet another exciting running of the meet, which will officially commence next month.

The highly-anticipated summer meet at the historic Saratoga Race Course is scheduled to start on July 14, 2022, and run through September 5, 2022. Fans of races can also purchase the condition book for the meet, as it has been made available online. There are also physical copies of the book, which will be available to buy in the Belmont Park racing office from June 29, 2022.

More Money on the Line

NYRA announced that all open two- and three-other-than allowance races will have an increase of allowances of US$15,000 to US$120,000 and US$125,000 respectively. Also, a-other-than allowance will be boosted by US$12,000 to US$115,000. While restricted one- and two-other allowance will both be enhanced by US$5,000 to US$95,000 and US$100,000 respectively.

Then, US$50,000 starter allowances will be improved by US$8,000 and come with a US$70,000 purse, while claiming races will offer an US$80,000, which is an increase of US$8,000 from last year’s amount. NYRA also said that there is a US$6,000 increase for the US$40,000 level, a US$5,000 increase for the US$25,000 entry, as well as a US$4,000 bump for the US$32,000 and US$20,000 levels.

In addition to that, open maiden special weight races will have a US$5,000 boost, thus having a purse of US$105,000. While New York-bred maiden special weights will increase by US$3,000 to a total of US$88,000. The NYRA Maiden Allowance Auction Series will make a comeback for the summer, and it is designed for horses that or RNA’d for US$50,000 or less at their latest auction recognized by Equibase.

This year’s edition of the Saratoga Race Course’s summer meet will be highlighted by the Grade 1 US$1.25 million Runhappy Travers Stakes on August 27, 2022. Another race that everyone is looking for is the Grade 1 US$1 million Whitney Stakes on August 6, 2022. Overall, the meet is set to feature 77 stakes with over US$22.6 million in total purses.

Hosting Giveaway Sale

Similar to last year, this summer the New York Racing Association will host a premium giveaway sale again for its annual summer meet at the historic track in Saratoga. This year’s giveaway has been divided into three line-ups, with the first one on July 29, 2022, featuring a picnic blanket. The item is presented by Saratoga Casino Hotel, and it is a perfect item to take to the races.

The second line-up is on August 19, 2022, and will feature a white long-sleeve T-shirt with red sleeves. It is inscribed with a red Saratoga logo on the chest and white NYRA Bets and Fox Sports logos on the sleeves. And the final giveaway item is a mini umbrella by NYRA Bets, in red and white colors, and a red Saratoga and black NYRA Bets logos.

Source: “NYRA Increases Purses for 2022 Saratoga Meet”, BloodHorse, June 24, 2022