The Grade I Apple Blossom H. is getting a $100,000 purse increase to $700,000, Oaklawn Park announced Wednesday in releasing its 2018 stakes schedule. The prestigious race for older fillies and mares will be held Apr. 13 and is part of a 31-race stakes calender worth $8.525 million.
“The Apple Blossom is one of our marquee races and a race of its stature deserves a purse increase,” Oaklawn vice president Louis Cella said. “The long list of winners is a who's who of some of the best race mares of all time, from Bayakoa to Paseana to Azeri and of course, Zenyatta. Stellar Wind, the 2017 winner, is just one of many champions to kick off her year in this great race.”
Oaklawn is also bumping the purse of the Essex H. for older male horses from $250,000 to $300,000. That race will be run Mar. 17 along with the GII Rebel S. and GII Azeri S. Oaklawn's 2018 race meet, which will offer over $30 million in purses, will run from Jan. 12-Apr. 14.
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