Asmussen on board for Turfway meet

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen is among the trainers who have taken stalls at Turfway for the upcoming meet, perhaps the best illustration of the impact that new Churchill Downs Inc. ownership is already making 95 miles up Interstate 71.

Including sizable bonuses from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund, CDI has raised purses for maiden-specials to $46,000 and first-level allowances to $48,000, essentially doubling their former value. The holiday meet runs through Dec. 31, with the winter-spring meet spanning Jan. 1 to March 28. The first stakes comes Friday night with the $75,000 Holiday Inaugural, a six-furlong race for which 69 fillies and mares have been nominated.

CDI already has announced that a massive renovation will get started as soon as the winter-spring meet ends. Word is expected in the coming weeks as to what type of track surface or surfaces will be laid down for future meets. Polytrack has been the lone racing surface in use at Turfway since September 2005.