The New York Racing Association cut nearly $2 million in purse money and eliminated six ungraded events from the 2023 Saratoga stakes schedule it released Tuesday. In total, 71 stakes worth $20.8 million will be offered during the 40-day meet that runs from July 13 through Sept. 4. That compares to 77 stakes worth $22.635 million offered in 2022. The eliminated stakes were all listed races that in 2022 carried purses of $135,000 - the Shine Again, Alydar, Tale of the Cat, Summer Colony, Riskaverse, and Better Talk Now. Eight graded stakes had their purses cut, topped by the Grade 1 Saratoga Derby Invitational for 3-year-olds on turf which went from $1 million in 2022 to $600,000. The Grade 3 Saratoga Oaks for 3-year-old fillies on turf was cut from $700,000 to $400,000. The Personal Ensign and Forego - both Grade 1 stakes - and the Jim Dandy, Flower Bowl, and Ballston Spa - all Grade 2 stakes - had their purses cut to $500,000 from $600,000. The Grade 3 Saranac had its purse cut $25,000 to $175,000. Other stakes incurring a purse trim were the Birdstone (down $50,000 to $150,000) and the Bernard Baruch (down $25,000 to $150,000. The Benard Baruch lost its Grade 3 status and will be run as a listed race in 2023. :: Bet the races on DRF Bets! Sign up with code WINNING to get a $250 Deposit Match, $10 Free Bet, and FREE DRF Formulator.  The only stakes to receive an increase this year is the Grade 2 National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, which went up by $300,000 to $500,000. The Hall of Fame is for 3-year-olds at one mile on turf. NYRA spokesman Pat McKenna said the cut in stakes money is not a reflection of an anticipated decline in handle for the year due to racing at Aqueduct for eight months. A purse schedule for overnight races at Saratoga has not been finalized. “These purse adjustments, which largely come from reductions to the Saratoga Oaks and Saratoga Derby, allow NYRA to offer the most well rounded and competitive stakes program in the country,” he said. “The goal is to offer purses which attract strong fields that accurately reflect the importance and value of a given race. The 2023 Saratoga stakes schedule does just that.”   The stakes purse adjustments at Saratoga follow similar changes in the stakes program at Belmont Park’s spring/summer meet where NYRA reduced the purses of 12 graded stakes by a combined $1.325 million and the overall program by $1.375 million. That meet is four days shorter than the corresponding meet in 2022. Those cuts included reductions in the Belmont Derby and Belmont Oaks, similar races to the Saratoga Derby and Oaks. Five listed stakes were eliminated at Belmont as well. As it did at Belmont, NYRA is spreading out the graded stakes at the Saratoga meet. For example, the Aug. 26 Travers Day card will consist of five graded stakes, down from six last year and seven from 2015-2019 and 2021. The Grade 1 Personal Ensign has been moved to the day before the Travers, The Ballston Spa, which also had been run on Travers Day, will now be held two days before as that card’s stand-alone feature. :: Get Daily Racing Form Past Performances – the exclusive home of Beyer Speed Figures Thus, Travers Day will consist of five stakes - all Grade 1’s - topped the $1.25 million Travers for 3-year-olds. The card will include the $750,000 Sword Dancer, the $500,000 Forego, the $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens, and the $500,000 Ballerina. Saratoga’s New York Showcase Day card, a card for statebreds typically held the day before the Travers, will now be held the day after the Travers. The Grade 1, $1 million Whitney will be run Aug. 5 as part of a five-stakes program that includes the Saratoga Derby and Grade 1 Test. NYRA has renamed the Grade 3, $175,000 Forbidden Apple Stakes - a one-mile race on turf for older males run July 15 - the Kelso. Belmont’s fall meet had hosted a Grade 2 Kelso, scheduled for dirt from 2010-2022 after being scheduled for turf from 1984-2009. That dirt race will be renamed for the 2023 Belmont at the Big A meet, according to McKenna. One other notable change is the $150,000 Lucky Coin Stakes at Saratoga will be renamed the Harvey Pack, honoring the legendary television host/analyst who died in 2021. The 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint for males will be held on the Sept. 2 program that is topped by the Grade 1, $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.