NYRA to Increase Overnight Purses Effective Oct. 18

The New York Racing Association will increase purses at Belmont Park in a number of overnight conditions effective Oct. 18, bringing the value of its open claiming and maiden claiming races to the highest levels in the country.

NYRA's Oct. 14 announcement, which was sparked by a surge in all-sources wagering and the return of external casino revenue, also included a retroactive increase for some purses during the first 16 days of the current 27-day fall meet.

While stakes will not be affected, among the conditions impacted by the enhanced purses are the open maiden special weight category, which will be worth $80,000 instead of $63,000, and the New York-bred maiden special weight category, which will rise to $70,000 from $52,000. 

Also, open $25,000 claiming races will be worth an additional $4,000, putting them at $50,000, and $40,000 maiden claiming races will have a purse of $43,000. Those purses put Belmont Park ahead of other major tracks, including the current Keeneland meet ($32,000 purse for a $25,000 claiming race), the upcoming Churchill Downs meet ($35,000), and at Oaklawn Park ($42,000) this year. The purses for $40,000 maiden claiming races are $29,500 at Churchill Downs and $24,000 at Keeneland.

In addition to the purse increases, a retroactive purse payment dating to the racetrack's Sept. 18 opening day will be issued on those enhanced conditions, covering 50% of the purse increase. As an example, the winner of an open maiden special weight race earlier in the meet will receive the 55% winner's share ($4,675) of the $17,000 purse increase for that condition. 

"The myriad impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic—including the suspension of live racing and the closure of casinos across New York—forced NYRA to make significant adjustments to the purse structure to ensure operational continuity throughout the spring, summer, and early part of the fall," said NYRA senior vice president of racing operations Martin Panza.

"NYRA made those strategic decisions early in the crisis so that we could restore our purses to near pre-pandemic levels as soon as possible to support New York's horsemen and the 19,000 jobs connected to Thoroughbred racing in New York," Panza continued. "Thanks to the incredibly strong wagering seen at Saratoga and into Belmont fall, coupled with the resumption of VLT revenues in early September, we are at this point even faster than expected. NYRA would like to thank (president) Joe Appelbaum and the membership of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association for their hard work and collaboration in securing these increases."

Appelbaum called the enhanced purse structure "wonderful" for New York horsemen, who endured 80 days without racing this year due to the pandemic.

"It's wonderful to see the purses at Belmont going up," Appelbaum said. "It demonstrates the popularity and resilience of our racing product, and our horsemen will appreciate the return to more normal purse levels. Fingers crossed, we are all learning to manage cash flow through COVID-19, and this is a testament to the clear-eyed planning of the spring and summer."

A stimulus for the purse increase has been impressive handle figures at the current Belmont Park meet, where wagering is up nearly 40% from last year despite the general public being barred from the racetrack due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Continuing the momentum from the Saratoga Race Course meet—where an all-sources handle that topped $700 million for only the second time supported NYRA's decision to leave Belmont Park in the midst of the pandemic and conduct its annual upstate meet at the Spa—and increased television coverage on the Fox Sports and MSG networks, handle is up by $45,249,507 for a 38% gain.

During the first 16 days of the current Belmont Park meet, total wagering stands at $164,993,286, a sizable jump from the 2019 figure of $119,743,779.

This past weekend, during the Oct. 10 card that featured four grade 1 stakes, including the Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes (G1), Belmont Park handled $19,534,830, the highest single-day figure at the racetrack's fall meet since September 2014.

That figure also topped the combined Oct. 10 handle at Keeneland ($12,657,753) and Santa Anita Park ($5,715,376).

NYRA's finances have also been lifted by the reopening of the Resorts World Casino New York City, which is located in the former grandstand of Aqueduct Racetrack. Approximately 38% of NYRA's purse account is funded from VLT revenue, and the bulk of that figure comes from the Aqueduct casino, where wagering has been brisk despite attendance being capped at 25% of capacity. 

Since reopening Sept. 9, the Aqueduct casino has generated more than $108 million in total wagering in each of the past four weeks. Those figures are only behind comparable 2019 totals by about 40% despite the limited capacity.