Record stakes purses for Kentucky Downs meet

Enriched by off-season revenues accrued from Instant Racing machines, purses at the five-day September meet at Kentucky Downs are expected to be worth a record $7.5 million, officials at the south-central Kentucky track announced Friday.

Twelve stakes will be run at the meet, to be conducted Sept. 5, 10, 12, 16, and 19, with the richest being the Grade 3, $600,000 Kentucky Turf Cup on Sept. 12. Including bonuses from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund, purses for maiden-special races will be worth $120,000, and allowance races will be worth as much as $130,000.

The stakes schedule is designed to dovetail with the October meet at Keeneland, where the Breeders’ Cup will be run Oct. 30-31 for the first time. There are three new stakes, including the $150,000 Old Friends, named in honor of the Thoroughbred retirement facility near Lexington, Ky.