Ry's the Guy makes surface switch look like a smart move in Champion's Day Marathon

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Seeking a different result, Ian Wilkes thought he needed to shake things up with Ry’s the Guy, a hard-trying 4-year-old who had gone more than a year since his last victory.

“I had to change something,” Wilkes said after Ry’s the Guy led all the way under Chris Landeros in winning the $115,400 Champion’s Day Marathon as Churchill Downs opened its 14-day September meet Tuesday without spectators.

Bet down to even-money in a field of five older horses, Ry’s the Guy drew clear down the stretch to prevail by 4 3/4 lengths in his first dirt race following eight straight defeats on turf. He returned $4 after finishing 1 1/2 miles in 2:29.58 over a fast track. The time was a record at a distance very seldom offered on the Churchill main track.

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Rated R Superstar was second, Eskenforit was third, and Sir Winston, the 2019 Belmont Stakes winner, had no apparent mishap when finishing fourth, nearly 21 lengths behind Ry’s the Guy. Core Beliefs rounded out the order.

Owned by the Lothenbach Stables, Ry’s the Guy, a Kentucky-bred by Distorted Humor, was winning a stakes for the first time and is now 3 for 15 overall. Wilkes said the availability of longer dirt races will determine whether he continues to run Ry’s the Guy in such spots.

“Those turf horses – he wants to go long, but they were getting to him too quick,” said Wilkes. “If I can get some more of these types of races, that may help him.”

Two races earlier, Churchill gave a test run to its new 20-stall starting gate when seven maidens were dispatched at the top of the stretch going the Kentucky Derby distance of 1 1/4 miles. No issues were reported.

The first five-day span of this meet runs through Saturday (Kentucky Derby Day), after which Kentucky Downs will run a six-day meet from Sept. 7-16. Churchill then runs the last nine days of its meet from Sept. 17-27.