Kentucky Downs offers added benefits for Keeneland September yearling grads

The all-turf meet at Kentucky Downs in September offers lucrative opportunities, and next year it will offer even more for horses who pass through the upcoming Keeneland September yearling sale.

Graduates of this year's sale, which runs Sept. 13-24 in Lexington, Ky., will be eligible to run in two $250,000 allowance races at the 2022 Kentucky Downs meet - one for males, one for fillies. Yearlings sold, as well as those who do not meet their reserve in their trip through the ring, will be eligible.

“Every meet, owners tell us after winning a race that now they have more money for the Keeneland September yearling sale,” Ted Nicholson, Kentucky Downs’ vice president for racing, said in a release. “This is just another incentive to keep those sales horses in Kentucky or to bring them back to the state to race. This should also help breeders and consignors of yearlings with turf pedigrees, giving potential owners extra reason to buy a grass horse.”

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At the current Kentucky Downs meet, which was scheduled to pay out more than $15 million in purses over the six dates, an entry-level allowance for juveniles carries a purse of $145,800, of which $75,600 comes from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund (KTDF). The hefty Keeneland sale-restricted allowance purses will not include any KTDF money, which is available only to registered Kentucky-bred horses, as the races will be eligible to sale graduates foaled anywhere. Funding will come out of the Kentucky Downs horsemen’s purse account under an agreement with the Kentucky Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, which represents owners and trainers at Kentucky's five Thoroughbred tracks.

“This innovative venture between Keeneland and Kentucky Downs is a win/win, rewarding those horsemen who buy yearlings at the September sale with lucrative racing opportunities while enhancing Kentucky’s racing circuit,” Keeneland vice president of racing Gatewood Bell said. “It is an investment very much in keeping with Keeneland’s mission to strengthen the sport of racing, and an example of how collaboration among racing entities benefits our industry.”