Proposed Arlington schedule eliminates several stakes
By Marcus Hersh
Arlington Park revealed its proposed 2011 stakes schedule on Wednesday, a schedule that will save close to $500,000 in purse money compared to 2010. Gone from the stakes schedule in 2011 is the $200,000 American 1,000 Guineas, an early-meet turf stakes for 3-year-old fillies that was introduced in 2008 and never found a niche. Also absent from the 2011 schedule is the Grade 3 Arlington Oaks, a race that had been run 13 times, and offered a $100,000 purse in 2010. Two $100,000 Illinois owners stakes will be run as $50,000 overnight races in 2011. And finally, the purse of the Arlington Matron was lowered from $150,000 last year to $100,000 this year.