The purse for the Grade 2, $500,000 Super Derby will double to $1 million if Street Sense, Curlin, or Rags to Riches run in the Sept. 22 race, Louisiana Downs officials announced on Thursday. Street Sense won this year's Kentucky Derby, Curlin the Preakness, and Rags to Riches the Belmont Stakes.
"We are actively pursing all three horses," said Doug Bredar, racing secretary at Louisiana Downs.
Carl Nafzger, who trains Street Sense, won the Super Derby in 1990 with Kentucky Derby winner Unbridled. One start later, Unbridled captured the Breeders' Cup Classic.
"I think the biggest thing we have going for us is the timing of the race," Mark Midland, vice president of racing operations for Louisiana Downs, said of the five-week spacing between the Super Derby and the Breeders' Cup Classic.
Early-bird nominations for the Super Derby, which will be run at 1 1/8 miles, close Aug. 4, with a payment of $250. The Super Derby will anchor a program that also includes four turf stakes, each worth $200,000. If the Super Derby purse is increased to $1 million, the card will be the richest in track history.