2 days Ago
The financial rewards available to the competing thoroughbreds and their connections during the Aiken Fall Steeplechase Championship on Nov. 23 will be the most lucrative ever for any hunt meet conducted by the Aiken Steeplechase Association. Purses for the seven jump races on the card will be worth a total of $220,000.
“Hopefully, it will keep climbing; that’s the goal,” said Aiken Steeplechase Association President Frank Mullins of his organization's money-related plans for the future. Gates at the Aiken Steeplechase Association’s racecourse at 2020 Richland Ave. E.
will open at 8 a.m. The post time for the first race will be 1 p.
m., and the last, the $50,000 Holiday Cup, is set to go off at 4 p.m.
Aiken Steeplechase Association has big plans to raise money, add facilities to racecourse The Aiken Fall Steeplechase Championship will be the finale of the National Steeplechase Association’s 2024 season, which kicked off here on March 23 with the Aiken Spring Steeplechase and included competitions held in New York, Maryland and other states. Ticket sales for the Aiken Fall Steeplechase “are going extremely well,” Mullins said. “They are definitely ahead of last year.
” There was a lull in demand after Tropical Storm Helene caused widespread damage in the Aiken area in late September. “People were cleaning up and digging out for a while, so things slowed down,” said Mullins on Nov. 18.
“But they (ticket sales) have really, really picked up lately.” The Aiken Steeplechase Association has transitioned to an electronic ticketing process, so general admission and parking passes should be purchased in advance online at aikensteeplechase.com.
The cost for each general admission pass is $42.08 (including a $2.08 fee).
Parking passes are $43.13 (including a $3.13 fee) apiece.
Tickets and passes will be emailed to their buyers. There will be no cash sales on race day at the venue. Two races were added to the Aiken Fall Steeplechase Championship’s card following the cancellation of the Steeplechase of Charleston that was scheduled for Nov.
10 in Hollywood. A surface of the Lowcountry racecourse was overly hard and dry following a prolonged drought in the area, and it also lacked “suitable turf,” according to a National Steeplechase Association news release. AFM GIve Me Wings Foundation makes donation to nonprofit that teaches teens to drive safely As a result, the Charleston Steeplechase will be the presenter of two races during the Aiken Fall Steeplechase Championship — the $35,000 Alston Cup and the $30,000 South Carolina Jockey Club Cup.
“The purse money [for the Alston Cup and the South Carolina Jockey Club Cup] comes from the NSA (National Steeplechase Association),” said Bill Gallo, director of racing for the National Steeplechase Association. “We subsidized them for the benefit of our horsemen who obviously were disappointed they couldn’t go to Charleston.” Mullins told the Aiken Standard that he is “very proud” of the Steeplechase Association “for doing its part.
" “I think we’re going to have quite a few people come up from Charleston for their relocated races,” he added. “We’re just helping out until they get their track sorted out.” Steeplechase of Charleston LLC, owned by The Post and Courier Foundation, is the organizer of the hunt meet in Hollywood.
The Aiken Standard and The Post and Courier in Charleston both are under the umbrella of the Evening Post Publishing Newspaper Group. In addition to the seven jump races, there will be other events and activities for attendees of the Aiken Fall Steeplechase Championship to enjoy Nov. 23.
They include stick horse races at 11:30 a.m., live music in the Village of Shops from 11 a.
m. to 3:30 p.m.
, a carriage parade at 12:15 p.m. and the Aiken Hounds Parade at 1:15 p.
m. The Mane Event celebrates USC Aiken's equestrians, raises funds Hat and Crazy Pants contests will be held at the Budweiser Live Music Stage in the Village of Shops at 1:45 p.m.
Corgi races, which are new to the Aiken Fall Steeplechase Championship, are scheduled for 2:40 p.m., 3:10 p.
m. and 3:40 p.m.
The Paddock Playground will open at 10 a.m. and will include the Eudora Wildlife Safari Park petting zoo.
At 10:45 a.m., the Aiken Steeplechase Association will present checks for $5,000 each to the Hitchcock Woods Foundation, Great Oak Equine Assisted Programs, Megiddo Dream Station, South Carolina Youth Diabetes Association and the Greater Carolinas Chapter of the National MS Society.
“We look forward to a fun-filled day with friends and family, carrying on Aiken’s history and racing traditions,” said Aiken Steeplechase Association Event Director Jessica Miller..
