Shine Again Scrapped due to insufficient entries
Terrible numbers for starters in dirty stakes at Racecourse Saratoga claimed a victim when the $135,000 Shine Again Stakes attracted only one non-staking participant as scheduled for Aug. 3. The race was offered as an “extra” to the contest. race on August 4 and did the race program again.
Shine Again has been scheduled for a seven-horse dirt race for older mares and fillets, who have not yet won a stake in 2022 beyond a state-bred test.
There were originally two possible starts for Shine Again, but one of them opted for an allowance race, leaving only a hopeful start.
The failure to fill in the entry box for Shine Again comes at a time when the New York Racing Association has been a challenge to rallying large fields for stakes.
Including the $350,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt (G1) July 30 with six starters and $600,000 Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) with four, the last seven major racetrack stakes at Spa drew in 36 people started, averaging 5.14 horses per race.
Three of those stakes, each graded, have only four starters. Elite horses in some races can contribute to limited yard sizes.