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Churchill Downs Simulcast Network Offers Holiday Weekend of Stakes Racing

Churchill Downs will conclude its 2000 Fall Meet over the holiday weekend with a collection of stakes races designed to attract the nation's top horses in the handicap and juvenile divisions. Churchill Downs' stakes line up is highlighted by the 126th running of the $400,000-added Clark Handicap (Grade II) on Friday, Nov. 24, a race that dates back to the Louisville racetrack's inaugural year of 1875.

Also on the schedule, the $250,000-added Falls City (Grade III) for fillies and mares on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 23, and two important contests for next year's potential Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks contenders -- the $200,000-added Brown & Williamson Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (Grade II) for 2-year-olds and the $200,000-added Golden Rod Stakes (Grade II) for 2-year-old fillies. Both juvenile races are scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 25, the closing day of Churchill Downs' 2000 Fall Meet.

Hollywood Park celebrates the Thanksgiving holiday weekend with its 10th annual Turf Festival, featuring six graded stakes races on the turf, including two prestigious Grade I events: the $500,000 Early Times Hollywood Derby for 3-year-olds and the $500,000 Matriarch Stakes for fillies and mares.

Both races are scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 26. The Turf Festival kicks off Friday, Nov. 24, with the $200,000 Miesque Stakes (Grade III) for 2-year-old fillies and the $200,000 Hollywood Turf Express (Grade III), a 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint for handicap horses. The action continues Saturday, Nov. 25, with the $500,000 Citation Handicap (Grade II) for older horses and the $200,000 Generous Stakes (Grade III) for 2-year-olds.

As part of the 10th annual Turf Festival, Hollywood Park will offer a $1 million guaranteed Pick Six on Sunday, Nov. 26, a wager that challenges race fans to select the winning horses in the fifth through 10th races on the Hollywood Park card. Both the Early Times Hollywood Derby and the Matriarch Stakes were included in the Pick Six line-up in 1999, helping to generate a pool of $1.5 million. Twenty perfect tickets were worth $40,539 apiece.

Calder Race Course offers its own challenge to this year's juvenile turf stars with the $100,000 Hollywood Wildcat Stakes, a 1 1/16-mile contest for 2- year-old fillies scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 25. Also scheduled for that day is the $100,000-added Hoosier Juvenile at Hoosier Park at Anderson. The six- furlong race for 2-year-olds will be contested on the main track. On Sunday, Nov. 26, Hoosier Park pays tribute to Indiana-breds with the $50,000-added Frances Slocum Stakes for older fillies and mares and the $50,000-added Too Much Coffee Stakes for registered Indiana-breds age three and older.

``We are thrilled to offer our customers four days of outstanding stakes competition,'' said Don Richardson, CDI's senior vice president, racing. ``These 14 races are rich in tradition and prestige, offer generous purses, and attract some of the most talented horses and most accomplished horsemen in the country. It is shaping up to be a holiday weekend of exceptional racing.''

``Many of our customers and their families enjoy spending the Thanksgiving holiday weekend at our racetracks and off-track betting facilities,'' said Andy Skehan, CDI's senior vice president, sales and marketing. ``Through CDSN, we can offer our customers a wide variety of racing product and wagering options. We are delighted to present such an impressive array of stakes races at a time when our customers can most enjoy them.''

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