Four-month meet begins with new Tapeta surface, construction plans on hold

A season of major transition gets under way Wednesday evening at Turfway Park when the northern Kentucky track begins four months of winter racing. Fans will not be able to attend, not necessarily because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but because there are no suitable accommodations for viewing.

Churchill Downs Inc., which bought Turfway for a reported $46 million in October 2019, has temporarily halted new construction at the Florence, Ky., track, although a new Tapeta surface has been in place for training since early November. The new synthetic track replaced a deteriorating Polytrack surface that had been in use since 2005.

The Turfway grandstand was razed last summer, but shortly after its demolition, issues regarding the legality of casino-style historical horse racing machines in Kentucky were raised. Churchill has opted to delay moving forward on a planned $100 million facility that would house those machines, pending further clarification.

In the meantime, the show goes on. The paddock and adjacent jockeys’ room are still standing on the frontside, as is a backstretch facility for owners and trainers. Stewards, placing judges, television personnel, and announcer Jimmy McNerney will work from a temporary structure where the grandstand once was.

A 13-day holiday meet runs through Dec. 31, after which the winter-spring meet goes from Jan. 1 to late March. The racing schedule varies from week to week, depending on holidays and other factors. First post for most cards is 6:15 p.m. Eastern.

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Two $65,000 stakes will be run at the holiday meet – the Holiday Inaugural on Friday and the Prairie Bayou on Dec. 31. The track’s signature event, the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks, will be run in mid-March.

The new Tapeta material on the one-mile track will perhaps make for slightly slower running times on average than the former surface, with kickback reduced. The new track has a lighter coloring than the old Polytrack.

“I like it a lot,” said Wesley Ward, who will maintain a sizable number of runners at Turfway and Keeneland throughout the winter when contending again for leading trainer honors with Mike Maker. “It’s great to train and race over.”

An eight-race opening-night program typifies what Turfway bettors can expect throughout the winter. A $35,000 allowance (race 6) is the nominal feature, with three maiden-specials worth up to $32,000 and four claiming events rounding out the card. All non-claiming/starter purses include substantial bonuses for registered Kentucky-breds.

After years of slumping business under former ownership, Turfway purses were raised significantly last winter after Churchill took over, with maiden-specials worth as much as $46,000. For the coming winter, they’ve been scaled back slightly, due mostly to the circumstances of 2020.

Besides Maker and Ward, high-profile trainers such as Brad Cox, Ken McPeek, Mark Casse, Ben Colebrook, and others will maintain strings at Turfway and/or Keeneland through the winter. Churchill officials have said a further strengthening of a year-round Kentucky circuit was a factor in its acquisition of Turfway.

The jockey colony will initially include the likes of Rafael Bejarano, Joe Rocco Jr., and Fernando De La Cruz, who will eventually winter at Oaklawn Park, which starts Jan. 22. Otherwise, mainstays such as Albin Jimenez, DeShawn Parker, Perry Ouzts, John McKee, Rodney Prescott, and Malcolm Franklin will be joined by newcomers Chris Landeros, Reylu Gutierrez, Declan Cannon, Angel Serpa, and Jermaine Bridgmohan for the duration.