downgraded races

After significant rain over the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival held last weekend at Saratoga Race Course, four of the graded races scheduled for the grass were moved to the dirt. The American Graded Stakes Committee automatically downgrades those races by one level--for that edition only--and reviews the runnings for the possibility of each race being restored to its original grade. None of the four graded races moved off the grass over the weekend at Saratoga had their original grade reinstated after review, according to a release from the American Graded...

The American Graded Stakes Committee released its list of graded stakes for 2023 Friday and it includes five races that were downgraded from Grade I status to Grade II races, including two of NYRA's more prestigious races for older dirt horses, the Woodward and the Cigar Mile H. Also dropping down from the Grade I to the Grade II level were the Clark S. at Churchill Downs, the Starlet S. at Los Alamitos and the Rodeo Drive S. at Santa Anita. The Woodward was, perhaps, the most surprising inclusion on...

The American Graded Stakes Committee has ruled that the Aug. 27 Smart N Fancy S. at Saratoga and Monmouth Park's GIII Eatontown S., contested Aug. 29, will remain downgraded for 2020 after both events were taken off the turf and moved to the main tracks last week. The Smart N Fancy was automatically downgraded to a non-listed black-type, while the Eatontown became a listed race after its removal from the turf. All races that are originally scheduled for the turf but subsequently moved to the dirt are automatically downgraded, however,...