TRACKSIDE
$7.5m Kentucky Downs five-day meeting
“This will be a very exciting fall in Kentucky, with record purses at Kentucky Downs and the Breeders’ Cup coming to Keeneland,” said Kentucky Downs President Corey Johnsen. “We have designed our stakes schedule to complement the Keeneland Breeders’ Cup meeting, and with an average of $1.5 million in daily purses and KTDF, this will be our greatest season ever.” A record total of $7.5 million in purses and Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund (KTDF) money will be offered during the 2015 Kentucky Downs five-day meeting which begins on September 5. Contested over a Europeanstyle turf course, full cards are also set for September 10, 12, 16 and 19. The Kentucky Downs racetrack is among the longest courses in North America, at 15/16 miles in length. With subtle elevation changes throughout the course, a sweeping turn into the stretch run, and a quartermile run from the end of the final turn
to the finish line, racing at the Franklin, Kentucky, track is unlike any seen this side of the Atlantic Ocean. The signature event of the track’s 24th meet is the Grade 3, $600,000 Kentucky Turf Cup on September 12. The 1½-mile race will be one of 12 stakes races that should suit turf contenders for the Breeders’ Cup World Thoroughbred Championships, which will make its debut at Keeneland on October 30 and 31. Overnight races will offer $120,000 for maiden special weight and as much as $130,000 for allowance races. These races and stakes receive significant support from the KTDF. For the past three years, Kentucky Downs has increased purses, due in large part to pari-mutuel wagering on historical horse races. There will be three new stakes, including the $150,000 Old Friends Stakes on September 16, added to the schedule. The race will honor Old Friends, the non-
profit Thoroughbred retirement center in Georgetown, Kentucky, which entered into a joint venture with Kentucky Downs, which now houses retired racehorses on its grounds. “Many of the top horsemen in the country have supported our program,” said Tyler Picklesimer, racing secretary at Kentucky Downs. “They have high regard for our safe and consistent turf course and like the way their horses bounce out of their races here. We have been in touch with them, and they are pointing their top turf specialists to Kentucky Downs in September.” Earlier this year HANA, the Horseplayers Association of North America, named Kentucky Downs as the number one racetrack in North America. The HANA Racetrack Ratings are based on an algorithm using factors indicative of horseplayer betting value, gleaned from both empirical and academic study. Key factors including takeout rate, field size, wager variety, pool size, and signal distribution are analyzed track by track and weighted to produce a final composite score. “With low takeout and a field size over ten horses per race, Kentucky Downs has definitely given horseplayers something to get excited about,” said Horseplayers Association of North America (HANA) President Jeff Platt. “Despite the short meet, the ratings algorithm does not discriminate when it comes to value; Kentucky Downs has it and horseplayers have been responding.” “It is gratifying to be recognized for our efforts,” said Johnsen. “Providing the horseplayer value drives virtually every decision we make at Kentucky Downs. As our formula continues to be successful and handle increases – which produces more purse money – then it is a win-win-win for the fans, horsemen, and track.”
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