$1 Million Haskell Invitational to be run at Monmouth Park Sunday

by Lynne Snierson

One million dollars. That's the purse that some of the top three-year-old horses in the country will be vying for when they line up in the starting gate for the Haskell Invitational Stakes at Monmouth Park on Sunday, July 29.

There will also be bragging rights at stake. The Haskell is a Grade 1 race, meaning that it is ranked in the elite class of races run and the winner will take his place among the best horses in training and deserve strong consideration when the discussion is held about year-end championships. The winner will also stand among some of the sport's immortals who have won the Haskell's 44 previous runnings.

Dullahan and Paynter, who competed in this year's Triple Crown races and finished third in the Kentucky Derby and second in the Belmont Stakes, respectively, are headed to Monmouth Park for the Haskell and have been training brilliantly in preparation. They'll meet many other accomplished runners in the starting gate.

In addition to the Grade 1 $1 million Haskell, the races that day include six supporting stakes races offering another $800,000 in purse money and one is a Grade 2 race and two more carry a Grade 3. Haskell Day, complete with 14 outstanding races, is a day not to be missed.