Louisiana Derby purse raised to $1 million

[Cannon Shell]

“A Louisiana Derby purse boost will make it easier for the top few finishers to amass the graded earnings they need to make the gate for the Kentucky Derby,” Richardson added. “This year it took more than $225,000 in graded earnings to be in the Kentucky Derby field, the highest cutoff ever. Next year I believe horsemen are going to be more careful about choosing to run only in the richest graded events.”