Lucrative Kentucky Downs meet lures horsemen near and far
Just across the Tennessee state line, the grass is indeed greener on the other side: Purses have reached nearly obscene heights at Kentucky Downs.
Fueled largely by what track officials euphemistically call “historical racing machines,” Kentucky Downs will offer per-day purses projected at more than $1 million at a meet that starts full blast Saturday. Fields will be maxed out and wagering will be spirited throughout the five-day meet, as evidenced by the 130 horses on the 10-race Saturday card.
“Opening-day entries were silly-good,” said Tyler Picklesimer, now in his second year as racing secretary at the south-central Kentucky track. “Throughout this meet, fans will see horsemen from both coasts and everywhere in between coming in to run at a little racetrack in Franklin, Ky.”
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In many races, Kentucky-breds will be eligible for more than twice the money as horses bred elsewhere, which helps to explain why nearly 90 percent (114) of Saturday’s entries meet that criterion. In addition, a horse must be nominated to the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund to receive those bonuses, although the vast majority of owners follow through on that.
The first three of 12 stakes, each worth up to $300,000, will be run in succession Saturday: the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Fillies (race 7), the Kentucky Downs Juvenile (race 8), and the More Than Ready Mile (race 9). Each includes $200,000 in bonuses from the KTDF.
Dates for the meet are Sept. 5, 10, 12, 16, and 19, with the first race going at 1:35 p.m. Central each day.
As usual, ontrack fans can be expected to revel in the uniqueness of Kentucky Downs. The 1 5/16-mile, European-style turf oval is irregularly shaped and undulating, with jockeys changing silks in a trailer before meeting up with owners and trainers in a grassy paddock fashioned from the countryside. And although management is offering a variety of upscale trackside-seating venues for the first time this year, many folks are content with watching from the great outdoors – even without a tote board or videotron to help in that endeavor – with between-races tailgating on the spacious grounds always an option.
For offtrack bettors, Kentucky Downs is a perennial favorite, with its huge fields (10.1 horses per race in 2014), formful racing (favorites won 22 of 50 races last year, or 44 percent), and low takeout. Exacta takeout is 18.25 percent, while takeout for other exotics such as trifectas, pick threes, and pick fours is 19 percent. The pick five is a mere 14 percent.
This will be the first of three straight Saturdays when two Kentucky tracks will run the same day. Ellis Park runs nine races Saturday, while Churchill Downs, which runs an 11-day meet Sept. 11-27, will overlap with Kentucky Downs on Sept. 12 and 19.
The richest day of the meet is Sept. 12, when the Grade 3, $600,000 Kentucky Turf Cup is the highlight. One of the new attractions is Old Friends Day on Sept. 16, when the first running of the $150,000 Old Friends Stakes will be held.