Gulfstream adding stakes, including new 3-year-old event

Without racing this time of year at Keeneland in Kentucky and Aqueduct in New York, a classier sort of horse population has continued to stable in south Florida. Gulfstream Park accordingly plans to card a few new stakes, including one in the popular 3-year-old division.

Mike Lakow, Gulfstream’s vice president of racing, said he’s adding to the stakes schedule an overnight race for sophomores on April 25 “not to compete with the Arkansas Derby, but just because horses are here, and there’s a need for the division.”

Gulfstream’s race, called the Unbridled, will be worth $75,000. Should horsemen find a way to ship to Oaklawn Park, the May 2 Arkansas Derby (G1) carries a $750,000 purse along with 2020 Kentucky Derby qualifying points.

Lakow also cited the turf male division as one in demand locally, with the recent Appleton Stakes and an allowance race both attracting overflow entries. There will be a new 1 1/16-mile turf race called the Sunshine Forever on May 9, while the racing office is determining where to place stakes for 3-year-old fillies and turf sprinters.

“We’ll just play it by ear, see what’s on the grounds and see what there’s a need for,” Lakow said.

Gulfstream has the luxury of time given most divisions were well served on March 28, when the Hallandale Beach, Fla., track hosted a stakes-packed afternoon of racing on Florida Derby day. That’s not to say the barn area can’t also grow during shutdowns in other states amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lakow said horses shipping in must quarantine for two weeks in Ocala, Fla., at a non-training facility before they can stable at properties owned by The Stronach Group, meaning Gulfstream and its satellite training center, Palm Meadows.

“There’s no new personnel allowed at this point,” Lakow said, so horses will have to ship to barns that already have staff at those facilities. “We have very strict protocols, and that’s what’s keeping us going.

“We plan on running the entire race meet, and each day we’re creating new protocols for the health and safety of the humans and the horses. We’re so tight right now, and the horsemen are 100% behind us.”

With its Championship Meet complete as of the end of March, Gulfstream is running a Thursday-Sunday schedule during its spring-summer session. The stakes schedule will begin with the new 3-year-old event later this month and runs into September, when the $300,000 Princess Rooney (G2) and $200,000 Smile Sprint (G2) figure to serve as Breeders’ Cup preps.