The American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association Dec. 4 presented its listing of U.S. graded and listed stakes races for 2016, the results of its annual grading session conducted Dec. 2 in Lexington.
The committee reviewed 788 unrestricted U.S. stakes races with a purse of at least $75,000, and assigned graded status to 464—one more than in 2015, and listed status to 173 races. Six previously graded races were upgraded; Eight new grade III races were named; and 31 new listed races were upgraded from non-listed blacktype status. Twenty races which carried graded or listed status in 2015 are no longer eligible for grading.
One race was upgraded to grade I status for 2016: the Fourstardave at Saratoga Race Course.
Two races were downgraded from grade I to grade II for 2016: the Eddie Read at Del Mar and Las Virgenes at Santa Anita Park.
Five races were upgraded to grade II status for 2016: the Eight Belles at Churchill Downs, Rachel Alexandra at Fair Grounds Race Course Slots, Shakertown and Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix at Keeneland, and Hillsborough at Tampa Bay Downs.
Tampa Bay officials noted the improved fields in the Hillsborough.
“A lot of factors go into upgrading a stakes, including the quality of the field and what horses go on to achieve against top competition,” said Tampa Bay racing secretary Allison De Luca and a member of the committee. “The quality of horses for the Hillsborough in recent years has been fantastic, and we are fortunate a lot of top trainers have brought their best horses to run here on the turf.
“I think it’s also a testament to (vice president of facilities and track surfaces) Tom McLaughlin and his crew for the job they do maintaining the turf course.”
Six races were downgraded from grade II to grade III in 2016: the Distaff at Aqueduct Racetrack, Futurity and Matron at Belmont Park, Hawthorne Gold Cup at Hawthorne Race Course, Adena Springs Beaumont at Keeneland, and Super Derby at Louisiana Downs.
Eight races were upgraded to grade III status for 2016: the Pennine Ridge at Belmont Park, Locust Grove at Churchill Downs, Harlan’s Holiday at Gulfstream Park, Houston Ladies Classic at Sam Houston Race Park, Buffalo Trace Franklin County at Keeneland, Frank J. DeFrancis Memorial Dash at Laurel Park, and Megahertz and Thunder Road at Santa Anita.
Sam Houston was thrilled with the upgrade of the Houston Ladies Classic.
“It’s a testament to not only our support of bringing pride to the Texas racing industry, but also to the hard work of our racing office under the leadership of Fred Hutton and Eric Johnston previously that we could bringing this to fruition so quickly,” said Sam Houston president Andrea Young of the race launched in 2013. “In pairing the Houston Ladies Classic with the John Connally Turf Cup, we’re excited to provide such a high quality event to our fans in January.”
Sam Houston owner Penn National Gaming Inc. has tried to upgrade open stakes offerings at its tracks.
“Just five years ago, the portfolio of Penn National gaming tracks contested one graded race and in 2016, we’ll be contesting five,” said PNGI vice president of racing Chris McErlean. “The infusion of this element of quality has been the bright spot for racing at both the venues and in their respective states and the business success has followed. We’re looking forward to our attempt to move the needle even further in the future.”
Four races were downgraded from grade III to listed status for 2016: the Dogwood and Jefferson Cup at Churchill Downs, Obeah at Delaware Park, and Azalea at Gulfstream.
2016 Graded Stakes
Number
Change from 2015
Grade I
Grade II
Grade III
All Graded
Listed
Non-Listed Eligible
All Graded, Listed and
Non-Listed Eligible Races