Zia Park Releases 2016 Stakes Schedule
Description:
The fourth Land of Enchantment card and New Mexico Cup day highlight Zia Park's 32-race stakes schedule for 2016. The track's 56-day mixed meet is set to start Sept 10 and run through Dec. 13.
The stakes schedule, which includes races for Thoroughbreds as well as Quarter Horses, is worth a combined $3.85 million in purses.
The Land of Enchantment day Nov. 23 will again serve as the centerpiece of the Zia Park meet and is led by the fourth running of the $300,000 Zia Park Oaks for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles. The $200,000 Zia Park Derby and $150,000 Zia Park Championship round out the six-figure unrestricted stakes for Thoroughbreds.
The richest racing on the Zia Park schedule will be Oct. 30 with the New Mexico Cup for New Mexico-breds.
With $1,810,000 in total purses, the 12 stakes on New Mexico Cup day represents nearly half the monetary value of the meet's stakes calendar. The eight Thoroughbred stakes are headlined by the $180,000 New Mexico Classic Rocky Gulch Championship.
Zia Park's Land of Enchantment card as well as Penn National's Fabulous Strike card later in the day on Nov. 23 will be the final events in the 2016 Penn Gaming Racing Challenge, which ties together 22 stakes races worth more than $5 million in purse money at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races, Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course, Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley, Sam Houston Race Park, and Zia Park.
The Challenge includes tie-ins between groups of races in the series, as well as bonuses and prizes that include free nominations, refund of entry and starter fees, and trips to the PNGI-owned M Resort in Las Vegas.
The 2016 Penn Gaming Challenge was won by owner Fox Hill Farms, trainer Mike Maker, and jockey Javier Castellano.