Frank De Francis Memorial Graded for 2016
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Photo: Jim McCue/Maryland Jockey Club
The 2015 running of the Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash.
The Maryland Jockey Club announced Dec. 3 that the $350,000 Frank De Francis Memorial Dash has been upgraded to grade III for 2016 by the American Graded Stakes Committee.
The De Francis, first contested in 1990, has played host to champions Housebuster, Safely Kept, and Cherokee Run. The race lost it graded status when it wasn't run in 2008 and 2010. Gentlemen's Bet was placed first in this year's De Francis due to the disqualification of Trouble Kid.
Along with the De Francis at Laurel Park, three other Maryland Jockey Club races were upgraded from non-listed black type to listed.
The Very One, won the past two years at Pimlico by the multiple graded-stakes winner Ageless, was upgraded, as was the Stormy Blues at Pimlico, won this year by another multiple graded stakes winner Lady Shipman. Laurel's Wide Country Stakes, won by Gypsy Judy, was also upgraded.