Bigger, better fields on tap for new ThistleDown meet

Bigger fields and better horses, two things all bettors crave, should be noticeable when ThistleDown launches its 91st season Monday.

Thanks to revenue from slot machines that began operating two years ago, the suburban Cleveland racetrack will offer a record average of $130,000 in overnight purses during its 100-day meet that runs through Oct. 24. That’s a 17 percent increase over last season’s $111,000 daily overnight average and the highest total among Ohio’s three Thoroughbred tracks.

Monday’s eight-race program attracted 70 horses, plus two also-eligibles. All races but one have nine or more entrants.

Just three years ago, ThistleDown averaged only 6.6 horses per race, a figure that climbed to 7.9 in 2014.

The number of stakes, allowance, and optional-claiming events rose 50 percent from 2013 to 2014, while races carded for low-level claimers ($5,000 and under) dropped 29 percent during the same time span. Both of those trends should continue this season.

Ohio-bred maiden special weight runners will compete for purses of $33,700, a 60 percent increase from last year’s $21,000. A second-level allowance for statebreds now goes for $37,700, a boost of 57 percent from $23,900 in 2014.

“Since the addition of [video lottery terminals] nearly two years ago, the quality of racing at ThistleDown has improved significantly,” said racing secretary Patrick Ellsworth. “The horsemen continue to enhance their stables, and their reward is higher purse payouts. Some of the outfits have really improved their stables, and it’s been fun to watch.”

Ellsworth has seen a dramatic increase in horses coming to ThistleDown after being based at Tampa Bay Downs, Gulfstream Park, and Oaklawn Park during the winter. He estimated that close to 20 percent of the early-season entries will be coming from Florida.

Antonio Gallardo, the runaway leader among jockeys at Tampa Bay Downs, is considering becoming a ThistleDown regular. Jason DaCosta, fourth in the Tampa trainers’ standings, has been allotted 20 stalls.

The jewel of the meet, the Ohio Derby, which carried a purse of just $100,000 as recently as 2013, now is worth $500,000. It also has a new place on the calendar, shifting from mid-July to June 20.

Ellsworth said the goal is to attract horses from the Kentucky Derby and Preakness who aren’t headed to the Belmont Stakes. The move also places the Ohio Derby roughly a month away from the Indiana Derby.

In addition to the Ohio Derby, ThistleDown will offer 19 stakes for Ohio-breds, including five in the Best of Ohio series worth $150,000 apiece. The remaining stakes are worth $75,000 apiece, starting with the Dr. T.F. Claussen Memorial on Saturday.

Monday’s opening-day card includes an appearance by the reigning two-time Ohio Horse of the Year, Needmore Flattery. A six-time winner in 10 starts last season, Needmore Flattery will make her 4-year-old debut in the sixth race, a first-level allowance for fillies and mares going six furlongs. It will be Needmore Flattery’s first appearance against open company since she ran on turf in the Ginger Brew Stakes at Gulfstream Park in January 2014.