Ellis opens meet with spectators, adjusted schedule

Following an eventful spring meet at fan-free Churchill Downs, action on the Kentucky circuit now moves to Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky., where the first four cards of a 25-day summer meet will be run Thursday through Sunday.

Spectators will be allowed to attend, marking the first time for such an arrangement in this state since mid-March at Turfway Park. However, there will be no general admission at Ellis, as fans are being requested to acquire ticketed seating through ellisparkracing.com. A lengthy list of other state-sanctioned protocols also will apply because of the coronavirus pandemic.

After the first four Ellis dates, Keeneland will run a five-day meet from July 8-12, after which Ellis will resume three-day weekends through Aug. 30. Then, what was originally scheduled to be the final week of the Ellis meet has instead been transferred to Churchill to enable the postponed Kentucky Oaks and Derby to be run Sept. 4 and 5.

Officials with Laguna Development Corp., the New Mexico company that last year purchased Ellis, are calling this the Runhappy Summer meet, with Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale having acquired sponsorship rights.

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“This has been a difficult year for everyone in horse racing,” said Jeff Hall, director of operations at Ellis. “Having Mattress Mack in our corner certainly makes us sleep better.”

Still, by any name, and under any owner, Ellis is Ellis, with soybeans still growing in the infield, sultry weather in the daily forecast, and 2-year-old racing and turf racing being granted added emphasis.

The meet will be highlighted by the richest race in track history, the $200,000 Runhappy Ellis Park Derby, a 50-20-10-5 points race that has been integrated into the revised schedule of qualifying races toward the Kentucky Derby. The 1 1/8-mile race is set for Aug. 9, along with the $100,000 Groupie Doll and three other stakes the same day.

The first stakes comes this Sunday with the $50,000 Ellis Park Turf for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles. A solid nine-race Thursday opener includes three allowances (races 6-8) and two maiden specials (races 4 and 9).

Ellis purses have been bolstered by payments of at least $2 million from Kentucky Downs as arranged by the Kentucky division of the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association. Non-claiming races are heavily weighted with bonuses from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund, so horses who are not registered Kentucky-breds are at a distinct disadvantage in that respect. For instance, maiden specials with a face value of $37,000 actually include $21,000 in bonuses from the KTDF.

First post daily is 1:50 p.m. Central. This is the 98th season of racing at Ellis, where plans are already being made for a big centennial celebration of the track’s founding in 2022.