Loss of two stakes offset by addition of two maiden races for Md-bred or -sired horses
from a Maryland Million Ltd. press release
The Maryland Million board has approved three significant changes for the 28th Jim McKay Maryland Million, to be run on Saturday, Oct. 19 at Laurel Park.
The day of racing for the offspring of eligible Maryland-based stallions will no longer card the Oaks and the Turf Sprint. And the distance of the Turf has been modified to one mile.
The Oaks, for 3-year-old fillies, had been run since Maryland Million’s inception in 1986. The Turf Sprint, won the past three years by Ben’s Cat, was first contested in 2004.
With the elimination of the Turf Sprint, the distance of the Turf has been shortened. To be run for the 28th time, the race was initially a mile and a sixteenth test until the 1993 running, when it was lengthened to a mile and an eighth.
This year’s Maryland Million Day will have two new opportunities for maiden turf runners, offering purses of $50,000 for each. Maryland Million and/or Maryland-bred horses will be eligible for the mile and a sixteenth races for 3-year-olds and up, with Maryland Million eligible horses preferred. Second preference will be for horses had to have run for at least $12,500 in their last three starts.
Pre-entry deadline for the 28th Jim McKay Maryland Million Day is Oct. 10. The condition book will be made available in August.
