Arlington Park officials have announced that the top three finishers in each
of the three graded stakes races on the July 11 Million Preview Day will have
their entry and starting fees waived for the corresponding International
Festival of Racing event on August 8.
“By offering this incentive, we hope to encourage the connections of those
horses which turn in strong efforts on Million Preview Day to participate in our
International Festival of Racing,” explained Kevin Greely, Arlington’s Vice
President of Racing and Racing Secretary.
The graded stakes races that make up the Million Preview Day program — a
staple at Arlington since 2001 — are the $200,000 Arlington H. (G3), which
serves as the final local prep for the Arlington Million (G2); the $200,000
Modesty H. (G3), which is the last local prep for the $750,000 Beverly D. S.
(G1); and the $300,000 American Derby (G2), the second leg of the Mid-America
Triple and a prep for the series’ final leg, the $400,000 Secretariat S. (G1).
There are three other stakes races on the Million Preview Day card — the
$200,000 Arlington Sprint, a “Breeders’ Cup Challenge Win and You’re In” race
that offers its winner an automatic starting berth in the $1 million Breeders’
Cup Turf Sprint to be run at Santa Anita; and the $50,000 Pink Ribbon S. and
$50,000 Diamond S., two overnight stakes.
At the same time, Arlington Park officials announced that the track will
offer a participation bonus to the owner(s) of any horse which runs in more than
one leg of the Mid-America Triple — the $150,000 Arlington Classic on May 23,
the American Derby and the Secretariat S. The owner of record for horses that
run in two out of three legs in the series will be awarded $3,000 and the owner
of record for horses that run in all three legs will be earn $6,000.
Previously, it was announced that Arlington Park would offer a $500,000 bonus
to the owner(s) of any horse that sweeps the Mid-America Triple, a feat only
accomplished once in its current all turf configuration when Honor Glide won all
three races in 1997.