Coming Soon: Fall Racing’s Last Hurrah at Aqueduct, Churchill Downs, and Del Mar

Late November is truly one of the great unheralded times of year for horseplayers. The table is set for a big end to November starting with a high-quality holiday weekend of racing and wagering this Thanksgiving. The season's top tracks will all be serving-up extra helpings of top-notch competition with all the trimmings for the four-day weekend, as the premier tracks of the season get set to offer up one last hurrah to cap off the fall racing season.

The Aqueduct, Del Mar, and Churchill Downs fall meets are in the midst of good seasons and all offer horseplayers great betting options during the month of November. The icing on the cake is taking place over the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend with the action centering around those three top simulcast signals. Aqueduct, Churchill, and Del Mar are all scheduled to reach their climaxes over the next week or two as they all roll out their remaining stakes and fill up their programs with turf races before racing on those circuits gets ready to transition to December when those kind of races become sparse.

The biggest events taking place over the next couple weeks will include Aqueduct's running of the $750,000 Cigar Mile (G1) on December 7, and the running of the $600,000 Clark (G1) at Churchill Downs on Friday. In addition to those two headline events, there are also many other stakes races scheduled for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend at Aqueduct, Churchill Downs, and Del Mar.

Churchill Downs closes for the season on Sunday, as does Del Mar. Closing weekend at Del Mar will host its fall season's season's final two Grade 1 races, the $300,000 Hollywood Derby on Saturday and the $300,000 Matriarch on Sunday.

Aqueduct will stay open all winter of course, but graded stakes races for the year will wrap up at The Big A's stakes extravaganza on December 7 with NYRA's final important stakes races bolstering the Cigar Mile card, including the $250,000 Remsen (G2) and the $250,000 Demoiselle (G2) for 2-year-olds, and the $250,000 Go For Wand (G3).

Here is a list of late fall's top stakes races at Aqueduct, Churchill, Del Mar:

KEY LATE FALL STAKES RACES

• Thursday, Nov. 28
  • Churchill: G2, $300,000 Falls City Stakes, 3&up, 1 1/8 M
  • Churchill: G3, $175,000 Cardinal Stakes, F&M 3&up, 1 1/8 M (T)
  • Aqueduct: G3, $200,000 Fall Highweight Handicap, 3&up, 6F

• Friday, Nov. 29
  • Churchill: G1, $600,000 Clark Stakes, 3&up, 1 1/8 M
  • Churchill: G2, $300,000 Mrs. Revere Stakes, 3yo fillies, 1 1/16 M (T)
  • Aqueduct: G3, $200,000 Comely Stakes, 3yo fillies, 1 1/8 M

• Saturday, Nov. 30
  • Churchill: G2, $300,000 Kentucky Jockey Club, 2yo, 1 1/16 M
  • Churchill: G2, $300,000 Golden Rod, 2yo fillies, 1 1/16 M
  • Aqueduct: G3, $200,000 Discovery Stakes, 3yo, 1 1/8 M
  • Aqueduct: G3, $400,000 Long Island Stakes, F&M, 3&up, 1 3/8 (T)
  • Aqueduct: $125,000 Aqueduct Turf Sprint Championship, 3&up, 6F (T)
  • Del Mar: G1, $300,000 Hollywood Derby, 3yo, 1 1/8 M (T)
  • Del Mar: G2, $200,000 Seabiscuit Handicap, 3&up, 1 1/16 M (T)
  • Del Mar: G3, $100,000 Jimmy Durante Stakes, 2yo, 1 M (T)
  • Del Mar: G3, $100,000 Red Carpet Handicap, F&M 3&up, 1 3/8 M (T)

• Sunday, Dec. 1
  • Del Mar: G1, $300,000 Matriarch Stakes., F&M, 3&up, 1 M (T) 
  • Del Mar: G2, $200,000 Hollywood Turf Cup, 3&up. 1 1/2 M (T)
  • Del Mar: G3, $100,000 Cecil B. DeMille Stakes, 2yo, 1 M (T)

• Saturday, Dec. 7
  • Aqueduct: G1, $750,000 Cigar Mile, 3&up, 1 Mile
  • Aqueduct: G2, $250,000 Remsen Stakes, 2yo, 1 1/8 M
  • Aqueduct: G2, $250,000 Demoiselle Stakes, 2yo fillies, 1 1/8 M
  • Aqueduct: G3, $250,000 Go For Wand Handicap, F&M, 3&up, 1 Mile

WRAP-UP

Whether you will be concentrating on Aqueduct, or Churchill, or Del Mar, or all three tracks during the next two weeks, you will be in store for some great late fall horse racing and wagering action. It is fall racing's last hurrah, so don't miss it. Best of luck, and have a happy Thanksgiving!