Single 6 jackpot at $112,000

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Spring turns to summer this week, which can only mean that the Churchill Downs meet will soon end. Just seven of 38 days remain at the meet, which began April 29, with more than half of those programs getting a late start.

Three twilight cards will be run prior to the June 30 Downs After Dark finale: Thursday as well as June 28 and June 29. Three allowances are on tap for Thursday, and all are part of the Single 6 sequence (races 3-8).

First post is 5 p.m. Eastern, with the 20-cent Single 6 starting with the third race at 5:58. The jackpot stands at $112,293 after no solo winners were sold Sunday on handle of $45,478. The rollover jackpot hasn’t been swept in the last 16 racing days.

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Here’s a quick rundown of the Thursday co-features:

Race 4: Indy Hill (trained by D. Wayne Lukas) and Iron Mane (Wesley Ward) both are 3-year-old Calumet Farm homebreds and are coupled for wagering purposes as the 8-5 morning-line favorite in this $55,300 first-level turf sprint. Either appears entirely capable of victory in a race that also drew Mistake Present and Angelo’s Ashes, both maiden winners over dirt last out.

In something of a statistical oddity, five Thursday races mandated stable couplings, including all three co-features.

Race 6: Laney, who outran her 49-1 odds by finishing third in the Grade 2 Eight Belles on Kentucky Oaks Day, returns as the likely favorite in a field of 11 3-year-old fillies in this $55,300 first-level race at 6 1/2 furlongs.

Trained by Eddie Kenneally, Laney has had three workouts since the Eight Belles. Her chief threats appear to be the Stonestreet Stables entry of Marcy Darcy, trained by Steve Asmussen, and Noelle’s Mischief, trained by Mark Casse.

Race 7: This $57,500 second-level race at 6 1/2 furlongs might be the deepest and most interesting of the allowance trio, with serious consideration merited by at least half of the 10 fillies and mares entered.

Doxology, making her first start since being claimed by Randy Morse, figures prominently throughout. She opposes the likes of Adore, Dream Dance, and the Adele Dilschneider entry of Care and Sentence.

The Thursday card kicks off the final four-day week of the spring meet. The weekend highlight is the Grade 3 Chicago Handicap on Saturday, with Finley’sluckycharm sure to be heavily favored in the seven-furlong race for fillies and mares.

Ellis Park starts its summer meet July 1.