Stall will watch Firecracker from afar

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Al Stall Jr. will send out two of the favorites Saturday night for the Grade 2 Firecracker at Churchill Downs, but the veteran trainer won’t be on hand to saddle either Departing or Medal Count.

“I made a commitment a while back to be with Frankie,” said Stall. “I’ve also got Chide in the Mother Goose [at Belmont Park] Saturday, but my people have to come first.”

Stall is referring to Frankie Brothers, his longtime mentor and friend who on Saturday night will become the first trainer inducted into the prestigious Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in Natchitoches, La.

Brothers, who retired from training in 2009 to become a bloodstock evaluator for Starlight Racing, will join such racing luminaries as Eddie Delahoussaye, Craig Perret, Randy Romero, and John Franks in the Louisiana hall. Other 2015 inductees include Avery Johnson (basketball), Jake Delhomme (football), and Kevin Faulk (football).

Meanwhile, Stall will have an eye peeled Saturday evening for a simulcast signal from Churchill, where Departing and Medal Count both will be making their second starts of the year. Departing finished third in the May 30 Opening Verse on the Churchill turf, while Medal Count faded to last in an off-the-turf race last Saturday and therefore will be running on just six days’ rest.

“I’m looking for them both to move up,” said Stall. “Medal Count showed last year he can run back on short rest.”

The $200,000 Firecracker, scheduled for a mile on turf, drew a field of nine older horses as the richest of four stakes on an 11-race card that closes out the 38-day spring meet.

From the hedge, this is the Firecracker field: Frac Daddy, Sky Flight, Slip By, R. Great Adventure, Hammers Terror, Knights Nation, Departing, Medal Count, and Skyring.

First post Saturday is 6 p.m. Eastern, with the Firecracker, the eighth race, set for 9:39. TVG will have full coverage.

The other Saturday stakes are the Grade 3, $100,000 Bashford Manor (race 6, 8:30), the $100,000 Debutante (race 7, 9:05), and the $70,000 Kelly’s Landing (race 9, 10:11).

Closing night change

Churchill has alternated using a Friday or Sunday on closing weekend of its spring meet – there was even a Thursday night card during the final week of the meet in 2009, the first year for lights – but this is the first time the spring meet will close on a Saturday night. Churchill opted to use the Thursday after Memorial Day as a live date instead of what would have been a final Sunday.

Attendance for Downs After Dark on closing weekend of the spring meet has declined every year since the first one, although all-sources handle had held fairly steady until dipping dramatically last year. Here are attendance and all-sources handle figures provided by Churchill for those dates (rounded handle figures):

June 27, 2014 – 18,193; $2.5 million

June 29, 2013 – 19,753; $4.7 million

June 30, 2012 – 22,417; $3.9 million

July 1, 2011 – 27,787; $4.7 million

July 2, 2010 – 32,481; $4.5 million

July 2, 2009 – 33,481; $4.5 million

Ellis Park opens July 3

Ellis Park in western Kentucky will open its 31-day summer meet next Friday, July 3, with familiar fare: a four-race stakes schedule, plenty of turf racing, and the ever-popular weiner dog races on two Saturdays early in the meet (July 11 and 18).

Purses for certain races are tilted heavily in favor of horses eligible for Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund bonuses: a $29,000 maiden-special race actually includes $12,000 from the KTDF, and a $30,500 allowance race includes $13,000 from the KTDF.

The stakes schedule is led by the newly named Groupie Doll Stakes (formerly the Gardenia) on Aug. 8. The meet will operate mostly on a three-day schedule (Fridays through Sundays) through Labor Day, Sept. 7.

Stone thrilled with first meet

Race-caller Travis Stone will wrap up his first meet at Churchill on Saturday night with a solid body of work under him.

“It’s been an amazing experience,” said Stone. “People at the track are great to work with, and everyone cares about horse racing. Calling my first Kentucky Derby was exhilarating, and I’m looking forward to many more. I certainly hope to be here for a while.”

Stone, 30, replaced Larry Collmus, who called here for just one year before replacing Tom Durkin at the New York Racing Association.