Lucrative purses on tap at Kentucky Downs meeting
It has become a rite of September – horsemen doing double takes when noticing the size of the purses being offered at Kentucky Downs.
The purses come with asterisks, as Kentucky-breds compete for more than twice the money as horses bred elsewhere, but still, they’re gigantic: Maiden races are worth as much as $120,000, and allowance races as much as $135,000.
“We’ve got horses and trainers coming in from all over,” said C.J. Johnsen, Kentucky Downs racing manager. “This is going to be our biggest and best meet yet. It’s been pretty crazy in the racing office, really.”
Starting Saturday with a terrific 10-race card, Kentucky Downs will conduct a five-day meet over its asymmetrical turf course. The dates are Sept. 5, 10, 12, 16, and 19, with Sept. 10 being the first Thursday card in recent memory.
The first three of 12 stakes, each worth as much as $300,000, anchor the opener. Those races are the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Fillies, the Kentucky Downs Juvenile, and the More Than Ready Mile. The one-mile More Than Ready Mile drew Undrafted, Tourist, Departing, and Regally Ready among a field of 10 older horses.
Each of the Saturday stakes includes $200,000 in bonuses from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund, meaning non-Kentucky-breds compete for just $100,000 (although there is just one of those, Pumpkin Rumble, from the three stakes). Of the 130 horses on the Saturday overnight, 114 are Kentucky-breds, the vast majority of whom are eligible to the KTDF.
All three Saturdays will conflict with racing at other state tracks, starting with Ellis Park on Sept. 5. Churchill Downs, which runs an 11-day meet Sept. 11-27, will host an afternoon card Sept. 12 and a Downs After Dark card Sept. 19.
Kentucky Downs is located just east of Franklin, Ky., on the state’s south-central border. Overnight stabling has been banned in recent years, but management is permitting some overnight stays this season under certain circumstances.