Opening day for Turf Paradise in Phoenix set for Oct. 13
Sep 3, 2018, 4:05 PM
(Facebook/Turf Paradise)
PHOENIX — The opening day for a horse racing track in Phoenix has been set.
Turf Paradise, which is located at 19th Avenue and Bell Road, will kick off its 63rd season on Oct. 13, it was recently announced.
The opening day events will include a full card of live, local horse racing and ceremonies honoring veterans and first responders.
The beneficiaries of those veterans events will be the Marine Corp Law Enforcement Foundation and the Southwest Indian Foundation.
The featured race on opening day will be the $30,000 Bienvenidos Stakes.
Attendees can also listen to live music, play in a kids’ fun park and find delicious eats at a barbecue tent.
The first 5,000 people will also receive a free opening day T-shirt.
“As new fans discover the sport of horse racing thanks to another Triple Crown winner, we also want to welcome back our current fans who have been waiting all summer to watch, wager and win on live and local horse racing,” Turf Paradise General Manager Vincent Francia said in a statement.
“We also want to devote part of the day to honor the men and women who serve their country and their community.”
The gates will open at 11 a.m. on Oct. 13 and the first post time is at 12:55 p.m. Grandstand admission is $3 and general parking is free.
The season will come on the heels of another Triple Crown victory from Arizona-based trainer Bob Baffert, who ran horses at Turf Paradise in the 1990s. Baffert won the Triple Crown with Justify in June.
The race track’s 63rd season will also feature the $75,000 Cotton Fitzsimmons Mile in January, the $75,000 Phoenix Gold Cup and $50,000 Turf Paradise Derby in February and a Kentucky Derby Party in May.