Three allowance races top Sunday card
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The last Sunday card of the Churchill Downs spring meet will end in much the same way the meet has proceeded – with highly competitive fields and rich purses to illustrate just how good the racing has gotten at this historic track.
The 10-race program starts at 12:45 p.m. Eastern and will end with a late pick four (races 7-10) that begins with three straight allowances and ends with one of the deepest maiden-special races of the spring. Including bonuses from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund, purses for each race approach or exceed six figures, with the finale for maidens worth as much as $95,000.
Here’s a quick rundown of the Sunday features.
Race 7 (3:50)
Explorer, a 4-year-old Orb colt who has been favored in all four of his races, will make his first start since being transferred into the care of Brad Cox as the one to beat in this $97,000 first-level race at 6 1/2 furlongs.
A full field of 12 3-year-olds and up will run, with Seven Nation Army, Time On Target, Uber Kirk, and Stealth also likely to attract serious attention.
Race 8 (4:22)
Coach Rocks, winless in six starts since capturing the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks in March 2018, will return to the grass for the first time since early in her career in this $99,000 second-level race at 1 1/16 miles.
Lantiz, a two-back winner at Keeneland, is among the other contenders in a race with early speed aplenty, along with Lounge Act and the class-dropping Peru.
Race 9 (4:55)
A very well-matched lineup going a one-turn mile on the main track will vie for a $101,000 purse under a third-level condition, with more than half of the 11 older horses entered for an $80,000 claiming option.
December Seven, Casino Star, Lookin for Eight, and Rocking the Boat are part of a core of favorites.
The features are all part of the Single 6 sequence, which spans races 5-10. Into Friday, the carryover jackpot for the 20-cent Single 6 stood at $265,082.
After Sunday, only three days remain at the Churchill spring meet, with a mandatory disbursement of the Single 6 set for closing day (Saturday, June 29). Ellis Park begins its summer meet next Sunday (June 30).