NEWS
Road to the Triple Crown: Richer routes
Posted: Wednesday, March 03, 2010 8:33 PM
by Jeff Lowe
The road to the Triple Crown has grown more than $4-million richer in the last ten years, mirroring the rise in importance of graded stakes earnings for nailing down starting spots in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1).
From 1999 on, the Derby has drawn a full field of 20 horses every year except 2001 and ’03.
The push to qualify through graded stakes earnings, which determine the Derby field if more than 20 three-year-olds are entered, has placed a greater emphasis on purses for prep races leading up to the Triple Crown. Racetracks have responded.
In 2010, the prep schedule from January through the end of April includes 35 graded or group stakes offering $13-million in total purses, which is a 56.4% increase from $8,312,500 in purses that were available for 28 graded races in 2000.
This year’s slate includes one race from overseas, the $2-million United Arab Emirates Derby (UAE-G2), which first received group status in 2001. Last year, Godolphin Racing sent the top two finishers from the UAE Derby, Regal Ransom and Desert Party, respectively, to the Kentucky Derby.
Even without the UAE Derby, purses for graded prep races in the U.S. will be worth $11-million this year, a 32.3% increase from a decade ago.
Deflated total purses in North America declined 13.6 % from 2000 to ’09.
The prevalence of rich graded races allows owners and trainers to balance earnings and development, said Elliott Walden, the vice president and racing manager for WinStar Farm.
“There are so many races now that you can pretty much accomplish both of your goals at the same time,” Walden said. “You can prepare them the way you want to, and you can also find a race that gives you the best opportunity to get the graded earnings. It’s gotten to the point where there’s a race just about every weekend.”
The WinStar team and Racing Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott are currently looking for the right race for Drosselmeyer, who finished fourth in the Risen Star Stakes (G2) on February 20 at Fair Grounds in his stakes debut.
“We’re sitting on a situation where we’ve got to get some earnings,” Walden said. “We feel like he’s a Derby caliber horse.”
The choices for the Distorted Humor colt include the $750,000 Louisiana Derby (G2) on March 27 at Fair Grounds, $800,000 Sunland Derby (G3) on March 28, and $500,000 Illinois Derby (G3) on April 3 at Hawthorne Race Course.
WinStar also has graded stakes winners American Lion, Rule, and Super Saver in the Derby hunt. Super Saver might follow a familiar trail to Tampa Bay Downs that WinStar helped blaze with Bluegrass Cat and Any Given Saturday and most recently with Rule, who scored in the Sam F. Davis Stakes (G3) on February 13 at Tampa.
The Sam F. Davis received Grade 3 status in 2008, following back-to-back wins by Bluegrass Cat and Any Given Saturday. They eventually became Grade 1 winners.
Super Saver, who won the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) last fall, is under consideration for the Tampa Bay Derby (G3) on March 13 for his first start of the year.
Both Tampa Bay preps are 1 1/16 miles, and they have grown in stature and in purse value since Gulfstream Park expanded its main track to a mile-and-an-eighth configuration that eliminated the chance for horses to progress more gradually in distance.
“That really boosted Tampa’s credibility and ability to get better horses,” Walden said.
Oaklawn Park also has carved out a bigger slice of the three-year-old picture.
Oaklawn has doubled the purse for the Arkansas Derby (G1) to $1-million since 2000, and the race was elevated to Grade 1 status this year.
Two supporting preps, the Rebel Stakes (G2) and Southwest Stakes (G3), have also moved forward. The Rebel lost its grade for ’03 and ’04, before regaining Grade 3 billing and reaching the Grade 2 level in 2007. The purse has tripled from $100,000 in 2000 to its current level, $300,000.
Oaklawn’s Southwest Stakes (G3) did not carry a grade from 2000-’07 but rose with the purse level from $75,000 in 2000 to $250,000, starting in 2006.
The prominent newcomer this year is the Sunland Derby, which gained a Grade 3 ranking after last year’s race produced eventual Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird, Coolmore Lexington Stakes (G2) winner Advice, and Lone Star Derby (G3) winner Mythical Power.
Three graded races are on the schedule this Saturday, with the rescheduled Sham Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita Park joining the Gotham Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct and Palm Beach Stakes (G3) on the turf at Gulfstream Park.
The Sham, washed away with the rest of the Santa Anita card last Saturday because of drainage problems with the synthetic Pro-Ride surface, was redrawn on Wednesday with mostly the same cast as the original field.
Whirlaway Stakes winner Peppi Knows leads a field of ten for the Gotham that includes European import Awesome Act for English trainer Jeremy Noseda. Awesome Act finished fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G2) in his most recent start.
Triple Crown nominees Paddy O’Prado, Dean’s Kitten, Our Champion, and Lethal Combination are in the field for the Palm Beach.
Editor's note: THOROUGHBRED TIMES will feature its annual All About Purses section in the March 20 magazine issue.
Jeff Lowe is a Thoroughbred Times staff writer
|
2000 |
Winner |
Purse |
|
Tropical Park Derby (G3) |
Go Lib Go |
$100,000 |
|
Spectacular Bid S. (G3) |
B L's Appeal |
$75,000 |
|
San Miguel S. (G3) |
Swept Overboard |
$107,200 |
|
Holy Bull S. (G3) |
Hal's Hope |
$100,000 |
|
Golden Gate Derby (G3) |
New Advantage |
$150,000 |
|
Hutcheson S. (G2) |
Summer Note/More Than Ready (dh) |
$150,000 |
|
Santa Catalina S. (G2) |
The Deputy (Ire) |
$107,300 |
|
San Vicente S. (G2) |
Archer City Slew |
$150,000 |
|
Palm Beach S. (G3) |
Mr. Livingston |
$75,000 |
|
Fountain of Youth S. (G1) |
High Yield |
$200,000 |
|
San Rafael S. (G2) |
War Chant |
$200,000 |
|
Florida Derby (G1) |
Hal's Hope |
$750,000 |
|
Swale S. (G3) |
Trippi |
$100,000 |
|
El Camino Real Derby (G3) |
Remember Sheikh |
$200,000 |
|
Louisiana Derby (G2) |
Mighty |
$750,000 |
|
San Felipe S. (G2) |
Fusaichi Pegasus |
$250,000 |
|
Gotham S. (G3) |
Red Bullet |
$200,000 |
|
Turfway Spiral S. (G2) |
Globalize |
$600,000 |
|
Rebel S. (G3) |
Snuck In |
$100,000 |
|
Santa Anita Derby (G1) |
The Deputy (Ire) |
$1,000,000 |
|
Flamingo S. (G3) |
Trippi |
$250,000 |
|
Lafayette S. (G3) |
Caller One |
$113,500 |
|
Blue Grass S. (G1) |
High Yield |
$750,000 |
|
Arkansas Derby (G2) |
Graeme Hall |
$500,000 |
|
Wood Memorial S. (G2) |
Fusaichi Pegasus |
$750,000 |
|
Bay Shore S. (G3) |
Precise End |
$110,000 |
|
Coolmore Lexington S. (G2) |
Unshaded |
$357,400 |
|
Derby Trial S. (G3) |
Meetyouathebrig |
$117,100 |
28 graded races for a total of $8,312,500
|
2010 |
Winner |
Purse |
|
Tropical Park Derby (G3) |
Fly by Phil |
$100,000 |
|
San Rafael S. (G3) |
Conveyance |
$100,000 |
|
Holy Bull S. (G3) |
Winslow Homer |
$150,000 |
|
Lecomte S. (G3) |
Ron the Greek |
$100,000 |
|
Robert B. Lewis S. (G2) |
Caracortado |
$150,000 |
|
Sam F. Davis S. (G3) |
Rule |
$200,000 |
|
San Vicente S. (G2) |
Sidney's Candy |
$150,000 |
|
El Camino Real Derby (G3) |
Connemara |
$150,000 |
|
Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S. (G2) |
Eskendereya |
$250,000 |
|
Hutcheson S. (G2) |
D' Funnybone |
$150,000 |
|
Risen Star S. (G3) |
Discreetly Mine |
$300,000 |
|
Southwest S. (G3) |
Conveyance |
$250,000 |
|
Gotham S. (G3) |
March 6 |
$250,000 |
|
Palm Beach S. (G3) |
March 6 |
$150,000 |
|
Sham S. (G3) |
March 6 |
$150,000 |
|
Rebel S. (G2) |
March 13 |
$300,000 |
|
San Felipe S. (G2) |
March 13 |
$150,000 |
|
Tampa Bay Derby (G3) |
March 13 |
$300,000 |
|
Florida Derby (G1) |
March 20 |
$750,000 |
|
Swale S. (G2) |
March 20 |
$150,000 |
|
Lane's End S. (G2) |
March 27 |
$500,000 |
|
Louisiana Derby (G2) |
March 27 |
$750,000 |
|
United Arab Emirates Derby (UAE-G2) |
March 27 |
$2,000,000 |
|
Sunland Derby (G3) |
March 28 |
$800,000 |
|
Transylvania S. (G3) |
April 2 |
$100,000 |
|
Bay Shore S. (G3) |
April 3 |
$200,000 |
|
Illinois Derby (G3) |
April 3 |
$500,000 |
|
Santa Anita Derby (G1) |
April 3 |
$750,000 |
|
Wood Memorial S. (G1) |
April 3 |
$750,000 |
|
Arkansas Derby (G1) |
April 10 |
$1,000,000 |
|
Toyota Blue Grass S. (G1) |
April 10 |
$750,000 |
|
Coolmore Lexington S. (G2) |
April 17 |
$300,000 |
|
The Cliff's Edge Derby Trial S. (G3) |
April 24 |
$200,000 |
|
Withers S. (G3) |
April 24 |
$150,000 |
35 graded races for a total of $13-million
