Los Alamitos cuts purses for upcoming thoroughbred meet

Purses for the upcoming Los Alamitos daytime thoroughbred meet, running for eight race days June 22 and July 7, have been cut from last year’s amounts.

The lower purse amounts were published in the condition book for the meet, which runs just eight days this year instead of the nine it ran in 2023. The purse declines were previously reported by Steve Andersen of Daily Racing Form, who also reported that Los Alamitos officials informed the California Horse Racing Board that the track had a $200,000 purse account deficit.

A maiden special weight at the upcoming Los Alamitos meet pays a base purse of $41,000 in 2024, down almost nine percent from the $45,000 base in 2023. Base purses for first-level allowances are set at $44,000 in 2024, down just over six percent from $47,000 last year.

Claiming and starter races were also affected by the cuts. The sharpest drop percentage-wise happened at the bottom of the class ladder: $6,250 claimer for non-winners of two races lifetime offers a purse of $11,000, a 21 percent drop from $14,000 in 2023.

A $20,000 maiden claiming race pays $18,000, down 10 percent from the $20,000 purse at that level in 2023. A $50,000 maiden claiming race for juveniles offers $26,000, down just over 10 percent from the $29,000 on offer last year.

The cuts affected one of the three stakes scheduled for the meet. The 1 1/8-mile Los Alamitos Derby had a 20 percent purse cut: it offered $125,000 in 2023 but pays $100,000 in 2024.

Purses for the other two stakes during the meet remain the same as 2023. The Great Lady M (G2) for filly and mare sprinters, the lone graded race of the meet, still pays $200,000. The Bertrando for California-bred dirt milers holds steady at $100,000.