Romans approaching 2,000-win milestone
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Trainer Dale Romans began this week just nine shy of the 2,000-win mark and is on pace to achieve the milestone during the upcoming fall meet at Churchill, his home track.
Romans, 52, is the all-time leading trainer at Churchill with more than 700 wins. His other achievements include the 2012 Eclipse Award for outstanding trainer, as well as victories in the 2011 Preakness with Shackleford and the 2005 Dubai World Cup with Roses In May.
Senior status for Day
The all-time leading jockey at Keeneland and other Midwest tracks, Pat Day, will celebrate his 65th birthday Saturday.
Born Oct. 13, 1953, in Brush, Colo., Day won 8,803 races – still fourth on the all-time list – before and after his induction into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1991. He rode 918 winners at Keeneland and 2,482 at Churchill Downs, easily the most at both tracks, prior to his retirement in 2005.
Day and his wife, Sheila, continue to live in Louisville while very active in ministerial work. Day has been a member of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission since April 2016.
Carroll on home turf
Apprentice Declan Carroll, who made his riding debut Sept. 30 when finishing fourth in a race at Woodbine, is back in his native Kentucky. Declan Carroll is galloping horses for various stables, including his father, David Carroll, assistant to trainer Mark Casse. Declan Carroll, 19, intends to ride races sparingly until making a more concerted effort to attract mounts when the Fair Grounds meet begins next month. Joe Paulley is his agent.
◗ The semi-annual College Scholarship Day will be held here Friday during the 10-race card, with $1,000 scholarships being raffled off after every race. Registered students must be present to win.
About $350,000 in scholarships have been raffled off by the event co-sponsors, Keeneland and the Kentucky Thoroughbred Assocation, since 2002. Counting all state tracks, the total is nearly $600,000.
◗ A “Bluegrass Doubleheader,” as it is fondly known around here, is on tap for next Saturday (Oct. 20) when the Keeneland card precedes a college football game pitting Vanderbilt versus the once-beaten University of Kentucky squad at nearby Kroger Field. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Eastern.
