Ellis Park meet opens with richer purses

The dog days of summer officially get under way Sunday in Kentucky with the start of a 30-day race meet at Ellis Park.

Situated on a sliver of Kentucky land on the north bank of the Ohio River in Henderson, “The Pea Patch” will offer record purses while attracting many of the Kentucky circuit’s mainstays throughout a meet that runs through Labor Day, Sept. 3.

Per-day purses at Ellis will average up to $230,000 after the purse account was bolstered by a $2.9 million contribution from sister track Kentucky Downs. Last year, purses averaged about $210,000.

The stakes schedule has been expanded to 10 races, with four $100,000 turf races on Aug. 5 designed as preps for the five-day Kentucky Downs meet in September.

The Grade 3 Groupie Doll, the only graded race of the meet, is set for Sunday, Aug. 12. Ellis began running all its stakes on Sundays last year while reserving some of its Saturdays for locally popular promotions such as camel and ostrich races (July 7) and weiner-dog races (Aug. 4, 11, 25). The first stakes, the $50,000 Ellis Park Turf, is set for July 8.

Most trainers who topped the standings at the Churchill Downs spring meet will continue to be well represented at Ellis, including Steve Asmussen, Brad Cox, Mike Maker, Dale Romans, and Eddie Kenneally. Likewise, top jockeys Brian Hernandez Jr., Corey Lanerie, Shaun Bridgmohan, and Jimmy Graham will be riding at Ellis when not fulfilling out-of-town stakes engagements.

Ellis race-caller Jimmy McNerney, in his fourth year, now will be in an expanded role as a public handicapper, while Caton Bredar will be in for on-camera work on opening day and for the bigger stakes dates.

Ellis will run Fridays through Sundays except for this Wednesday and Thursday and on Labor Day. There will be no racing Sept. 1, opening day at Kentucky Downs.

First post daily is 12:50 p.m. Central. General admission and parking are free. The opening-day forecast calls for a high of 93 and a chance of thunderstorms. The feature of the nine-race opener is a $43,000 turf allowance (race 8) in which Starving Artist is the 2-1 morning-line favorite for trainer Joe Sharp.