Kalamos wins Old Friends Stakes at 50-1

Kalamos pulled a 50-1 stunner Wednesday in the inaugural Old Friends Stakes at Kentucky Downs in south-central Kentucky, rolling from just off the pace to win the $150,000 race by two lengths.

Ridden by Abel Lezcano, Kalamos was coming off five straight races at Indiana Grand and had not won since Oct. 17, 2013, when still trained by Bill Mott. Bred by Juddmonte Farms, the 6-year-old son of Empire Maker is owned and trained by Edward Boerjan, who has trained off and on since 2006 and had won a grand total of three races prior to Wednesday.

Kalamos rallied four wide into the long Kentucky Downs stretch and was never seriously threatened as Thatcher Street, a 6-1 shot, surged from midpack to finish second, another two lengths ahead of Fredericksburg in a field of 10 older horses who had not won a stakes in 2015. Sky Flight, the 9-5 favorite, faded to seventh.

Kalamos returned $102 to win after finishing a mile and 70 yards in 1:43.18 over a firm course.

The $2 exacta (9-12) paid $845.20, the $1 trifecta (9-12-3) returned $6,160.50, and the 10-cent superfecta (9-12-3-10) was worth $2,058.09.

The huge upset was the second in a row on a 13-race card, following a 61-1 score by Ubiquitous Melody in the preceding race, an $84,360 allowance. Earlier in the day, Florent Geroux won four more races to pad his lead atop the local jockey standings.

Just one more program remains at a five-day meet at this turf-only track in south-central Kentucky. A 13-race card starts at 12:05 p.m. Central on Saturday.