Final day features two allowances, but no huge jackpot

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The last time Churchill Downs conducted racing in December, Joe Hirsch was 10 months old and Herbert Hoover was the president-elect.

It was on Saturday, Dec. 1, 1928, that Churchill closed a seven-day meet begun the previous Saturday, according to track archives. Ninety-one years later, they’ll finally run a December card again when closing the fall meet with 12 Sunday races.

It’s happening only by the quirks of the 2019 calendar and a break with tradition. Churchill has occasionally ended its fall meet as late as Nov. 30, and in prior years, when that date fell on a Saturday, the following Sunday (Dec. 1) either would be dark or racing would move to Turfway Park for the winter.

But with Turfway having struggled mightily in recent years, Churchill took over this date, although it may be a one-time-only thing. Churchill has assumed ownership of Turfway, and there’s no telling which track might run the races when Dec. 1 next falls on a Sunday in 2024.

Trivial pursuits aside, the Sunday card concludes what has been another eventful fall under the twin spires. Purses are at an all-time high and field size into Friday is averaging 8.75 horses per race.

With meet’s end, horsemen will begin dispersing next week to other venues for the next four months before reconvening in early April at Keeneland. Some will stick around for Turfway, where the recent purchase of the northern Kentucky track by Churchill Downs Inc. already has improved purses substantially, but most others will head to Gulfstream, Tampa, Fair Grounds, or Oaklawn.

Before then, there’ll be one last day to experience. Two allowances anchor a farewell card that will start at 1 p.m. Eastern and will end under lights, with the mandatory end-of-meet pool payouts, which tend to attract serious players, being small potatoes. An Xpressbet player on Wednesday used a $129.60 wager to empty a Single 6 jackpot that had grown for weeks, taking down $255,793 while deflating hopes of a getaway-day windfall for many.

The co-features are both for 3-year-olds and up on the main track, with Race 6 being a rare four-other-than sprint with a $105,000 purse and a $150,000 claiming option. Seven Trumpets, trained by Florida-bound Dale Romans, appears to hold a slight class edge over his five opponents.

Race 11 is a $97,000 first-level route in which Chess Chief, most recently third behind Owendale in the Oklahoma Derby, seems to come well spotted versus nine others for New Orleans-bound Dallas Stewart.

A daytime high of 50 is in the forecast for closing day, when ontrack fans can expect to see Santa Claus among the crowd and hear track bugler Steve Buttleman playing Christmas tunes during every post parade.