The New York Racing Association on Saturday announced the stakes schedule for the 28-day 2023 Belmont at the Big A fall meet.
As previously announced, the 2023 Belmont Park fall meet will be conducted at Aqueduct due to ongoing major capital improvement projects at Belmont Park. The fall meet will begin on Thursday, Sept. 14 and run through Sunday, Oct. 29 and includes three Grade 1s and six Breeders’ Cup “win and you’re in” qualifiers. The meet will offer a total of 40 stakes worth $8.78 million in total purses.
The Belmont at the Big A stakes action kicks off on Sept. 16 with the 11-furlong $350,000 Jockey Club Oaks (G3), the final leg of the lucrative Fillies Turf Triple for sophom*ore fillies.
The following week will see the first New York-bred stakes of the meet with the $125,000 John Hettinger for fillies and mares on Sept. 22, followed by the $150,000 Noble Damsel (G3) for fillies and mares and the state-bred $125,000 Ashley T. Cole for 3-year-olds and up on Sept. 23. The weekend concludes with a pair of seven-furlong sprints worth $125,000 for state-bred juveniles on Sept. 24 in the Bertram F. Bongard and its female counterpart, the Joseph A. Gimma.
Sept. 30 features a loaded card of four graded events, including the first Grade 1 of the meet in the $500,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/2 miles on turf. The card is supported by the $400,000 Woodward (G2) at nine furlongs for 3-year-olds and up, the $250,000 Gallant Bloom (G2) at 6 1/2 furlongs for fillies and mares, and the $250,000 Vosburgh (G2), a seven-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds and up that awards the winner a berth in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint in November at Santa Anita Park as part of the “win and you’re in” series.
The weekend wraps up with two more “win and you’re in” qualifiers on Oct. 1, with both events slated for juveniles at 1 1/16 miles on turf. The $200,000 Pilgrim (G2) awards a berth to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf while the $200,000 Miss Grillo (G2) for fillies awards a berth to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.
Oct. 7 provides another stacked card of graded events, led by two “win and you’re in” qualifiers at one-mile for juveniles in the $500,000 Champagne (G1), which offers passage to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, and the $400,000 Frizette (G1), a feeder to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. The card is supported by the $200,000 Belmont Turf Sprint (G3) for 3-year-olds and up sprinting six furlongs; the $200,000 Waya (G3) at 1 3/8 miles for fillies and mares; and the $500,000 Jockey Club Derby (G3) for sophom*ores, which will see its distance shortened to 1 3/8 miles from its previous 1 1/2 miles distance.
Graded action continues into the Oct. 8 card, including the final “win and you’re in” event of the meet with the $150,000 Futurity (G3) for juveniles sprinting six furlongs on the lawn in hopes of securing a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint. Also featured are the $250,000 Beldame (G2) at nine furlongs for fillies and mares; and the $150,000 Matron (G3) for juvenile fillies sprinting six furlongs on the turf.
Oct. 28 will offer four stakes, including the $300,000 Forty Niner (G3), which was previously run as the Kelso. The one-turn mile for 3-year-olds and up will offer the top-three finishers a free nomination and starting fee in the Cigar Mile (G2) to be run during the Aqueduct fall meet. Forty Niner, a multiple Grade 1-winner on the NYRA circuit, captured the 1988 Travers (G1) at Saratoga Race Course en route to victory in the inaugural running of the NYRA Mile Handicap, which later became the Cigar Mile.
The Oct. 28 card also includes the $250,000 Mother Goose (G2), a nine-furlong test for sophom*ore fillies that was previously held during the Belmont spring/summer meet; the Listed $135,000 Awad for juveniles going 1 1/16 miles on turf; and the Listed $135,000 Pumpkin Pie for fillies and mares sprinting seven furlongs.
Other graded events slated for the Belmont at the Big A fall meet are the $200,000 Sands Point (G2) for sophom*ore fillies traveling nine furlongs on the grass on Oct. 14; the $150,000 Knickerbocker (G3) for 3-year-olds and up at nine furlongs on the grass on Oct.15; and the $200,000 Bold Ruler (G3) for 3-year-olds and up sprinting six furlongs on Oct. 27.
The fall meet’s stakes action concludes on closing day, Sunday, Oct. 29, with Empire Showcase Day, which includes eight New York-bred stakes valued at $1.6 million in total purses. The card is highlighted by two nine-furlong events worth $250,000 in the Empire Classic and its counterpart, the Empire Distaff for fillies and mares. Empire Showcase Day will also include four $200,000 stakes in the Sleepy Hollow, Maid of the Mist, Mohawk and Ticonderoga, along with a pair of $150,000 stakes in the Iroquois and Hudson.
| Date | Stakes | Purse | Age | Dist. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Sept. 16 | Jockey Club Oaks (G3) | $300,000 | 3yo f | 1 3/8 (t) |
| Fri., Sept. 22 | John Hettinger - NYB | $125,000 | f&m 3 & up | 1 1/8 (t) |
| Sat., Sept. 23 | Noble Damsel (G3) | $150,000 | f&m 3 & up | 1 mi (t) |
| Ashley T. Cole - NYB | $125,000 | 3 & up | 1 1/8 (t) | |
| Sun., Sept. 24 | Bertram F. Bongard - NYB | $125,000 | 2yo | 7 f |
| Joseph A. Gimma - NYB | $125,000 | 2yo f | 7 f | |
| Sat., Sept. 30 | Joe Hirsch Turf Classic (G1) | $500,000 | 3 & up | 1 1/2 (t) |
| Woodward (G2) | $400,000 | 3 & up | 1 1/8 mi | |
| Vosburgh* (G2) | $250,000 | 3 & up | 7 f | |
| Gallant Bloom (G2) | $250,000 | f&m 3 & up | 6 1/2 f | |
| Sun., Oct. 1 | Pilgrim* (G2) | $200,000 | 2yo | 1 1/16 (t) |
| Miss Grillo* (G2) | $200,000 | 2yo f | 1 1/16 (t) | |
| Sat., Oct. 7 | Jockey Club Derby (G3) | $500,000 | 3yo | 1 3/8 (t) |
| Champagne* (G1) | $500,000 | 2yo | 1 mile | |
| Frizette* (G1) | $400,000 | 2yo f | 1 mile | |
| Belmont Turf Sprint (G3) | $200,000 | 3 & up | 6 f (t) | |
| Waya (G3) | $200,000 | f&m 3 & up | 1 3/8 (t) | |
| Sun., Oct. 8 | Beldame (G2) | $250,000 | f&m 3 & up | 1 1/8 mi |
| Futurity* (G3) | $150,000 | 2yo | 6 f (t) | |
| Matron (G3) | $150,000 | 2yo f | 6 f (t) | |
| Sat., Oct. 14 | Sands Point (G2) | $200,000 | 3yo f | 1 1/8 (t) |
| Floral Park | $125,000 | f&m 3 & up | 6 f (t) | |
| Sun., Oct. 15 | Knickerbocker (G3) | $150,000 | 3 & up | 1 1/8 (t) |
| Glen Cove | $125,000 | 3yo f | 6 f (t) | |
| Sat., Oct. 21 | Athenia | $150,000 | f&m 3 & up | 1 1/8 (t) |
| Sun., Oct. 22 | Carle Place | $125,000 | 3yo | 6 f (t) |
| Fri., Oct. 27 | Bold Ruler (G3) | $200,000 | 3 & up | 6 f |
| Chelsey Flower | $135,000 | 2yo f | 1 1/16 (t) | |
| Sat., Oct. 28 | Forty Niner (G2) | $300,000 | 3 & up | 1 mile |
| Mother Goose (G2) | $250,000 | 3yo f | 1 1/8 mi | |
| Awad | $135,000 | 2yo | 1 1/16 (t) | |
| Pumpkin Pie | $135,000 | f&m 3 & up | 7 f | |
| Sun., Oct. 29 | Empire Classic - NYB | $250,000 | 3 & up | 1 1/8 mi |
| Empire Distaff - NYB | $250,000 | f&m 3 & up | 1 1/8 mi | |
| Sleepy Hollow - NYB | $200,000 | 2yo | 1 mile | |
| Maid of the Mist - NYB | $200,000 | 2yo f | 1 mile | |
| Mohawk - NYB | $200,000 | 3 & up | 1 1/16 (t) | |
| Ticonderoga - NYB | $200,000 | f&m 3 & up | 1 1/16 (t) | |
| Iroquois - NYB | $150,000 | f&m 3 & up | 6 1/2 f | |
| Hudson - NYB | $150,000 | 3 & up | 6 1/2 f | |
| *Breeders' Cup Challenge | ||||
| NYB - New York bred | ||||
| t - turf |
