Indiana State Bred & Stakes Purses get increase

SHELBYVILLE, Ind. (July 19, 2021) – The Indiana Horse Racing Commission (IHRC) approved a proposal by the Indiana Thoroughbred Breed Development (ITBD) at their meeting Thursday, July 15, 2021 held at Harrah’s Hoosier Park to reimplement all State Bred and Sired Stakes back to a minimum of $100,000. The increase will affect 22 stakes and will be retroactive to the beginning of the stakes season, which got underway May 19, 2021.

A total of 10 stakes have already been run. Winning connections from those races will receive an additional $25,000 coming directly from the ITBD portion of the purse account. In addition, six stakes with purses advertised at $100,000 for 2021 will be boosted to $150,000. The six stakes moving to $150,000 include The Governor’s Stakes, The Indiana First Lady, The To Much Coffee Stakes, The Cardinal Stakes, The Unreachable Star Stakes and The Lady Fog Horn Stakes.

“Seeing this addition to our already healthy stakes schedule is a great boost to our racing program,” said Eric Halstrom, Vice President and General Manager of Racing. “Indiana Grand is fortunate to have such great partnerships with both the state and the horsemen’s organizations. This level of stakes purses brings us back to where we were in 2019, and it’s a great incentive for future investment and participation in the state bred program.”

Jessica Barnes, Director of Breed Development, worked closely with the horsemen’s organizations and Indiana Grand for the proposal to the IHRC. The increase will boost the state bred stakes for 2021 by more than $850,000.