Charles Town Races’s 2008 open stakes schedule will offer a record $900,000 in purses.

The 2008 stakes program begins on June 21 with the $500,000 Charles Town Sprint Festival. The festival is anchored by the $200,000 Charles Town Invitational Dash, a 4 1/2-furlong race for three-year-olds and older. The card will also feature three races worth $100,000 apiece. 

“We look forward to building a stakes program here at Charles Town that gets everyone’s attention,” said Al Britton, general manager of Charles Town. “We’re virtually starting from scratch and know we’ll probably have to tweak it, but this schedule gives us a great start. 

“The Sprint Festival will feature the three richest 4 ½ furlong open stakes in the country.   The two-year-old races will be the richest in the Mid-Atlantic region outside of Saratoga [Race Course] at that time of the year. Both event days should be of interest to horsemen regionally and nationally.”

On August 23, the track will offer the Charles Town Juvenile, a 4 1/2-furlong race for two-year-olds, and the Miss Shenendoah, a 4 1/2-furlong race for two-year-old fillies. The track will also host the $1,875,000 West Virginia Breeders’ Classic Night, which is restricted to West Virginia-breds, on October 18.