Record wagering and purses at Kentucky Downs meet

Record all-sources wagering and purse payouts once again were established at the five-day Runhappy meet that ended Thursday at turf-only Kentucky Downs in south-central Kentucky.

Betting totaled $41,239,699, up 13 percent over the former record of $36.4 million set during the five-day 2018 meet, when a cancellation moved a Sunday card to a Wednesday. There were no cancellations or weather issues this year.

Purses totaled more than $11.5 million, also a 13 percent increase over 2018, with a per-race average of more than $230,000. Those figures include bonuses from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund.

On the racetrack, Jose Ortiz earned his second straight Kentucky Downs riding title with 10 winners and a track-record $2.05 million in mount earnings despite missing the first day of the meet. There was a three-way tie for leading trainer among Joe Sharp, Wesley Ward, and Ian Wilkes (four wins each). No owner had more than two wins.

Field size averaged nearly 11.3 starters per race, a remarkable number considering races are limited to 12 starters, while favorites won at a 34 percent clip (17 for 50).

This was the first Kentucky Downs meet under the new ownership of Ron Winchell and Marc Falcone, who bought the track in March.

“Our goal is to build on it, make it better,” said Winchell.

Kentucky Downs has asked for seven 2020 dates from the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, which will assign dates Nov. 1.