A month from today, the 148th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville will take place. On Wednesday, one Pennsylvania racetrack decided to jump into the wave of thoroughbred racing momentum.
Parx Racing released its 2022 stakes schedule, highlighted by the $1 million Grade 1 Cotillion Stakes and the $1 million Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby, which will be held on Sept. 24.
Parx is located in Bensalem, just northeast of Philadelphia in Bucks County. Its casino is among the biggest in the state. Pennsylvania also is among a handful of states with Pennsylvania online casinos.
The Pennsylvania Derby Day card will be expanded to include a pair of juvenile stakes races for gambling in Pennsylvania: the $200,000 Prince Lucky and the $200,000 The Imply Stakes, both going off at six and a half furlongs. There also will be three graded stakes races scheduled on the undercard: the $200,000 Grade 3 Greenwood Cup, the Grade 3 $300,000 Turf Monster and the $300,000 Grade 2 Gallant Bob Stakes.
Parx stakes action begins in 18 days with the $100,000 Page McKenney Stakes and the $100,000 Unique Bella Stakes for fillies and mares on April 25. July will feature the $200,000 Grade 3 Dr. James Penny Memorial on the turf for fillies and mares on July 12.
For comparison, here is a look at the 2021 horse racing schedule. Parx had to cancel most of its 2020 race schedule due to COVID-19.
Parx Ramps Up After Early August Break
Parx will take a summer break in early August, but live racing returns with Pennsylvania Day at the Races on Aug. 22. On Aug. 23, the $150,000 Cathryn Sophia Stakes and the $300,000 Grade 3 Smarty Jones Stakes (GIII) will take place, with both serving as major preps for the Cotillion Stakes and Pennsylvania Derby.
The track also will host the championship day of the popular MATCH Series (set for early October), a series of stakes races over a seven-month span in which horses compete for lucrative bonuses at the end of the year in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Parx will host several MATCH series races over the course of the meet, including the $100,000 Neshaminy Stakes and $100k Bensalem Stakes on June 14 and the $100k Roamin Rachel Stakes, the $100k Liberty Bell Stakes, the $100k Bucks County Stakes and $100k Salvatore M. DeBunda PTHA President’s Cup on Oct. 3.
“To say that I am excited to release the Parx 2022 Stakes Schedule would be an understatement,” David Osojnak, director of racing and racing secretary at Parx, said in a news release. “Not only will Parx be offering the same thrilling stakes that we ran in 2021, including our marquee Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby and Grade 1 Cotillion, but this year we have the honor of hosting both the final leg of the 2022 MATCH Series and the inaugural running the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association 2-Year-Old PA Bred/PA Sired Stallion Series.
“I am looking forward to an electrifying 2022.”
BetParx App Recently Introduced
Parx re-launched its sports betting app last month as BetParx. They did so in partnership with London-based Playtech. The app also was released in New Jersey through a skin via Freehold Raceway).
Playtech is a gambling software development company that was founded in 1999.
