Daily handle, field size dip at Turfway Park holiday meet

Average daily handle at Turfway Park’s recently concluded holiday meet fell almost 5 percent from the figures posted at the corresponding meet in 2017, according to figures released Friday by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. The meet ended Monday before the northern Kentucky track’s winter/spring meeting began the following day with the new year.

Average all-sources handle for 21 dates was $1,360,051, down from 2017, when it was $1,426,200. Mild temperatures allowed the track to run its full slate on the winter calendar, accounting for three more race dates than in 2017 and leading to a rise in total handle to $28,561,078 from $25,671,603.

Turfway Park General Manager Chip Bach attributed the drop in daily handled to diminished field size. The track averaged 8.6 starters per race during the holiday meet, above industry norms but below its 8.9 average from the previous year.

“It’s obviously a purse question,” Bach said of fields at Turfway, which conducts racing with purses of approximately $100,000 a day. “That’s something we’re working to address with historical horse racing. Once we’re up and running, hopefully that will resolve some of the purse situation.”

Turfway hopes to install 350 historical horse-racing devices, which resemble slot machines, by the summer, perhaps by June 1, Bach said. The track, owned by Jack Entertainment, which also owns and operates a casino in nearby Cincinnati, has come under criticism by horsemen groups and state regulators for being slow to install the machines, which have supplemented purses at other Kentucky tracks.

Rodney Prescott edged Luan Machado by a 21-20 win total to top the rider standings, while Wesley Ward and Mike Maker tied for first among trainers with 10 wins apiece. Ken and Sarah Ramsey were the meet’s leading owners.

Turfway Park’s current meet has racing Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Its signature race, the Grade 3, $200,000 Jeff Ruby Steaks, is set for March 9, positioned earlier in 2019 than in prior years to provide more spacing toward the final round of major Kentucky Derby prep races.

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