By: Keith Jones
Last fall the American Graded Stakes Committee upgraded three stakes at Parx Racing to Grade 3 status, suddenly giving the track six graded races on its calendar. The Committee also upgraded the Cotillion Stakes giving the track its first Grade 1 race in its history. This weekend it was announced that two more races have now been upgraded to become Grade 3 races, the $300,000 Gallant Bob Stakes and the $150,000 Parx Dash. The Gallant Bob is the track’s top sprint race for three year-olds and the Parx Dash is a five furlong turf sprint that serves as a prep for the track’s top turf sprint, the $350,000 G3 Turf Monster Handicap, one of the top turf sprints in the nation.
This past year, the Gallant Bob saw Grade 1 winning sprinters Trinniberg and Currency Swap come in to compete. Following his appearance in the Gallant Bob, Trinniberg went out to Santa Anita and won the G1 Breeders Cup Sprint. The Parx Dash of 2012 was won by the sensational Ben’s Cat, one of the nation’s top turf sprinters.
Parx runs 13 major stakes during the season and with the two new upgrades, 8 of those stakes are now graded. “We’re obviously very pleased with the upgrades,” remarked Parx COO Joe Wilson. “It’s a testament to the hard work we’ve put in to establish a top quality stakes program here at Parx. We hope our fans enjoy the opportunity to come out and see the sports’ top horses compete over their local track.”