Photo: Shagara after winning the 2023 Winter Queen; www.marcruehl.com / Use of this photo is free of charge in connection with reporting on Baden Galopp
PRESS RELEASE
Sales & Racing Festival from October 18 - 20, 2024 in Baden-Baden - Iffezheim:
Two days of racing packed with highlights and the BBAG Fall Auction to close out the 2024 season in Iffezheim
Baden-Baden-Iffezheim, October 8, 2024 (MH) – Two days of racing, two Group races, Germany’s highest-purse auction race, and the BBAG Fall Auction—the Sales & Racing Festival from October 18 to 20, 2024, will once again mark a spectacular end to the season at the Baden-Baden-Iffezheim racetrack. Just one and a half months after the “Grosse Woche,” Baden Galopp welcomes all horse racing fans to Germany’s premier racetrack for an expected 16 races with total prize money of 661,635 euros (including breeder bonuses).
As of the entry deadline for the supporting races today, Tuesday, October 8—entries for the main races had to be submitted much earlier—a total of 308 horses (including those in the main races) had been entered for the 2024 Final Meeting.
Stephan Buchner, managing partner of Baden Galopp: “We are very pleased with the entry results. Several highly competitive handicap races are shaping up, which should be very interesting both from a sporting perspective and for bettors. We are eagerly looking forward to our 2024 season finale.”
Following the first day of racing on Friday, October 18, well over 300 horses will be offered at the BBAG Fall Auction on Friday evening starting at 5 p.m. and on Saturday, October 19, starting at 10 a.m.
The sporting highlights of the 2024 Sales & Racing Festival:
Friday, October 18:
Ferdinand Leisten Memorial (BBAG Auction Race, 200,000 euros, 1,400 m):
The most lucrative auction race organized by the Baden-Baden Auction Company, which has been held here since 2004, honors Ferdinand Leisten, an official, auctioneer, owner, and breeder who passed away in 1995. A whopping 200,000 euros awaits the owners of two-year-old horses offered in the BBAG auction ring. The owner of the winner receives 100,000 euros. Thirty young horses are currently still entered.
One very prominent name is Gestüt Ebbesloh’s Dhitjari from Peter Schiergen’s stable; the stallion finished a strong second in the 151st Renate and Albrecht Woeste Zukunfts-Rennen at this track. Iffezheim-based trainer Gerald Geisler currently has two contenders in the race—Baas and Bandida Estrellita.
Seven races will be held on the first day of the meet, including a Class I handicap over 1,800 meters with a purse of 20,000 euros. Exactly the same amount is up for grabs in a Class III handicap race over a mile. This race is part of the T. von Zastrow Top Handicap Series, in which the trainer with the most points receives a cash prize of 2,500 euros, the runner-up 1,250 euros, and the third-place finisher 750 euros. In addition, 500 euros will go to the winning training stable’s coffers. Going into the final two qualifying races, Bohumil Nedorostek and Dr. Andreas Bolte are tied for the lead. So excitement is guaranteed.
The first race is scheduled to start at 1:15 p.m. (gates open at 12:00 p.m.). Two four-horse bets are planned, each with a guaranteed payout of 10,000 euros. The V4 bet also offers a prize of 10,000 euros.
Sunday, October 20:
Carla Kellner Future Race – Winter Queen Stakes (Group III, 155,000 euros, 1,600 m):
Who will be crowned Germany’s best two-year-old filly? That question will be answered in the Carla Kellner Zukunftsrennen – Preis der Winterkönigin, held for the first time under new sponsorship on the final race day of the year in Baden-Baden. In this premier race for young fillies, prize money totaling 155,000 euros will be awarded over a 1,600-meter course.
Two years ago, the purse for the Group III race was raised to 155,000 euros, bringing it exactly in line with the purse for the Winter Favorites Stakes. This race was established in Mülheim an der Ruhr in 1959; since the introduction of the Sales & Racing Festival in 2004, the Iffezheim Racetrack has been the home of the Winter Queen. The winner is generally considered the early favorite for the first filly classic of the following season, the 1,000 Guineas. A year ago, Shagara, from Schlenderhan, triumphed.
Thirty fillies are currently still in the running for the Winter Queen title, including Park Wiedingen Stud’s Santagada, who put on a spectacular performance in the Renate and Albrecht Woeste Future Race during the “Grosse Woche” here, and Goldaue, who won the Winter Queen Trial in Cologne with ease. Quebec from Brümmerhof, who won decisively in Hanover, is also among the most interesting fillies.
Autumn Trophy (Group III, 55,000 euros, 2,400 m):
The final group race of the year in Iffezheim is the Herbst-Trophy, which follows in the tradition of the Länd Trophy and the Baden-Württemberg Trophy. A total of 55,000 euros in prize money is up for grabs in this Group III race over 2,400 meters.
Currently, the field still includes 20 horses, among them Straight, who finished second in the Prix de l'Europe; Augustus, who finished third in the Derby; Prydwen from England, winner of the WETTSTAR.de – St. Leger; multiple Group race winner Assistent; and the Iffezheim-bred mare Tanami Starlet.
The final race for the Mehl-Mülhens Foundation's Young Talent Award, open to riders up to age 30, is another event on the schedule, which is expected to feature nine races.
All betting enthusiasts will get their money's worth on this day with several four-horse bets and the V4 bet as well. The first race is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. (the track opens at 12:00 p.m.).
Tickets for all open areas are available on the website www.badengalopp.de
Further dates for Baden Galopp 2024 racing events
Sales & Racing Festival:
Friday, October 18
Sunday, October 20
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Andre Lott
Press contact
Baden Galopp GmbH & Co. KG
Rennbahnstr. 16
76473 Iffezheim
Tel: +49 1736755151
