Calder Race Course Cancels Three Remaining Stakes on Tropical Schedule
“Unfortunately, we have to take this action to lessen the overpaying of purses and to help balance the purse account,” said Kevin Flanery, senior vice president of Churchill Downs Incorporated, Calder’s parent company.
Reductions were made earlier in the year to daily purses and stakes races at both the Calder Meet and Tropical Meet due to lower than anticipated business levels. Various factors have contributed to the reductions, including a poor economy and the unavailability of wagering on Calder’s races through advance deposit wagering (ADW) platforms, such as TwinSpires.com, since the Calder Meet began on April 21. A dispute with the Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Group continues to prevent Tropical Meet races from being offered to ADW platforms.
Stakes cancellations on the Tropical schedule were made in September and included the $100,000 Cherokee Frolic Stakes and $100,000 Kris S. Stakes (both on Dec. 6); and the $100,000 Pete Axthelm Stakes and $100,000 Chaposa Springs Handicap (both on Dec. 27). In addition, purses to the La Prevoyante Handicap (G2) and W.L. McKnight (G2) were reduced from $200,000 each to $150,000 apiece.
Calder will present the final four stakes races of the season this Saturday, Dec. 13. The four graded events comprise the track’s Grand Slam event: $150,000 La Prevoyante Handicap (G2), $150,000 W.L. McKnight Handicap (G2), $100,000 Fred W. Hooper Handicap (G3), and $100,000 Kenny Noe, Jr. Handicap (G3).
Calder Race Course, located on South Florida’s Miami-Dade / Broward county line, offers Thoroughbred horse racing during two consecutive meets and year-round simulcasting. The track is home of the Turf Million, Summit of Speed, Juvenile Showcase, Festival of the Sun, Florida Million and Grand Slam. A wholly owned property of Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global Select Market: CHDN), Calder also operates the Tropical Meet. In 2008, the Calder Meet runs from April 21 through October 19 and the Tropical Meet runs from Oct. 20 through Jan. 2, 2009. Information about Calder Race Course can be found on the Internet at www.calderracecourse.com.
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Thoroughbred Horsemen's Group, LLC, Case #08-CV-225-S; changes in our relationships with horsemen's groups and their memberships; our ability to reach agreement with horsemen's groups on future purse and other agreements (including, without limiting, agreements on the sharing of revenues from gaming and advance deposit wagering); the effect of claims of third parties to intellectual property rights; and the volatility of our stock price.