The Meadowlands has announced the addition of a leg to the Graduate Series for pacers to be raced on May 15 in response to the cancellation of the Confederation Cup for 2021.

Horses that are fully paid up and eligible for the Graduate will be eligible to race in the added leg, and it will be considered for points toward the final just as the the scheduled legs.

This added leg will make a total of four $75,000 ($50,000 div.) preliminary legs for pacers and three for trotters heading into the $250,000 (est.) finals.

There will not be a leg added for the trotters as it would conflict with existing stakes.

"We scheduled the Graduate around the Confederation Cup to provide the four-year-olds the best chance to race in stakes against their own age before moving into the open stakes," said Meadowlands chairman Jeff Gural. "Without the Confederation Cup, which provided an elimination and final for them, there's a month between stakes. We'll add a Graduate leg (the) same day as (the) Cutler Memorial to give them a race and make a nice card on that night."

The Graduate Series schedule, in its entirety, reads as follows (all races at The Meadowlands unless otherwise indicated):

Pace
May 1
May 15
June 5 (Woodbine Mohawk Park)
June 26
Final: July 10

Trot
May 22
June 5 (Woodbine Mohawk Park)
June 26
Final: July 10

(The Meadowlands)