Charles Town Announces 2021 Stakes Schedule

Following up on a successful 2020 season which saw the Charles Town Classic (G2) and Charles Town Oaks (G3) run on the same day for the first time, Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races will once again showcase its two graded stakes on the same program in 2021, it was announced Dec. 15. Following approval by the West Virginia Racing Commission at its Tuesday morning meeting, the $800,000 Charles Town Classic and $400,000 Charles Town Oaks will headline the action on an Aug. 27 card that will include nine stakes races totaling $1.85 million in purse money. The Friday night action will get underway at 5:00 p.m. ET. The Classic received a purse bump of $200,000 for 2021 while the Oaks received the same increase. Three unrestricted undercard stakes—the Russell Road, Misty Bennett Pink Ribbon, and Robert Hilton Memorial—also received $50,000 hikes to $150,000. Four West Virginia-bred stakes, each worth $50,000, round out the stakes lineup. The West Virginia-bred stakes run Aug. 27 will be just four of 16 state-bred stakes worth $50,000 each at Charles Town in 2021, with the first coming April 17. The West Virginia Breeders' Classics take center stage Oct. 9, with purses to be announced at a later date.