There are 16 graded stakes at four tracks over the three-day holiday weekend, including seven sprints and six grass stakes. Nine of the 16 are carded for Saturday, including all five of the Grade 1's:
With the holiday falling on Friday, tracks took different approaches with their schedules. Belmont and Churchill spread their stakes out over the three days, while Hollywood put all its graded eggs in the Saturday basket, making this a rare July 4th itself without a Grade 1 on the menu.
There's a $49k carryover for Thursday's Belmont card, but I'll be passing and instead entertaining my mother, who arrives this afternoon for a holiday-weekend visit. If we can get a double-carryover into Friday, though, where the First Flight and Tom Fool will be part of the sequence, I'll be back in action.
