FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: David Zenner
(847) 385-7535
Cell: (847) 371-1670
Barn Notes: Wednesday, April 23, 2014
In Today's Notes:
- Condition Book 1 Has Different Look for 2014
CONDITION BOOK 1 HAS DIFFERENT LOOK FOR 2014
Condition Book 1 for the 2014 Arlington International Racecourse meet was released recently and Director of Racing/Racing Secretary Chris Polzin has a few new tricks up his sleeve in writing competitive races for the 89-day meet.
Among the changes for 2014 is the addition of 2-year-old maiden races at five furlongs on the turf scheduled for opening weekend. Saturday May 3 is the open division and the filly division is slated the following day. In past years, trainers wishing to run their babies solely on the grass had to wait until late June or early July for their first chance to take to the infield green – and then almost always around two turns at a mile.
The juvenile races on turf aren't the only 2-year-old races carded in Book 1. The more traditional 4 ½-furlong Polytrack variety races are in the book with the open division listed for Sunday, May 11 and the filly division carded exactly a week later on May 18.
Also noticeable is the addition of four starter handicap series – two each in the $5,000 and $10,000 categories with one open race and one distaff race for each price level. The races are written for horses that have started at or lower than the designated claiming price since May 1, 2012.
Qualifying races – slated once every three weeks – begin the weekend of May 17, starting at a distance of 1 1/16 miles on the main track and gradually increase in length over the course of the meet to a 1 ¼ miles in August. Points are awarded to the top four finishers in each of the five qualifying races in each division with the top point earners being eligible to race in final two legs – a 1 5/16-mile race the last weekend of August and a 1 ½-mile race in September.
Points earned increase for the final two races and the end of the entire series the horse in each division with the most points will earn his or her owner a bonus of $2,500 with the horse's trainer earning a like bonus.
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Barn Notes
Page 2
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
As part of the memorandum of understanding agreed to by Arlington and the Illinois Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Foundation, Illinois-restricted races will carry a purse $2,000 higher than its open counterpart. In addition, more conditions and options have been added for Illinois-bred horses to run in restricted company before venturing into open races. Plus, for all open races where the Owner and the Breeder of an Illinois-bred [IB] horse are exactly the same, a $1,000 bonus will be awarded to places 1st through 4th as follows: 1st – 60%; 2nd – 20%; 3rd – 15% and 4th – 5%.
Lastly, races carded at a mile and a sixteenth on the Polytrack will start at the finish line and end at the alternate finish line located at the sixteenth-pole, reverting to policy in place from 2007 through 2012. At a time where field size is so crucial to the success of a race meeting, this change is being implemented to allow as many as 12 starters in races at the distance instead of being restricted to fewer runners. Additionally, the lengthy run-up to the start of the 1 1/16-mile races last year to mitigate the short run to the turn meant horses were running nearly 1 1/8 miles in such races.
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David Zenner│Senior Manager of Communications
Arlington International Racecourse
2200 W. Euclid Ave. Arlington Heights IL 60006-0007
P 847.385.7535│C: 847.371.1670 | F: 847.870.6727│E: David.Zenner@arlingtonpark.com
Twitter: @dave_zenner, @arlingtonracing
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