Patrons at the Ohio track will be well aware of the Pepsi sponsorship on a daily basis. One of the track's water trucks has been painted to resemble a can of Pepsi.
The flurry of recent stakes sponsorships continued Thursday with the announcement that the $100,000 Bassinet Stakes for 2-year-old fillies at River Downs will be supported by Pepsi-Cola for at least three years. Last year's Bassinet was won by Caressing, who eventually was named champion 2-year-old filly of 2000.Earlier this month, Churchill Downs announced that Three Chimneys Farm near Midway, Ky., would sponsor the $100,000 2-year-old stakes formerly known as the WHAS-11 Stakes, and that Lane's End Farm near Versailles, Ky., would sponsor the $150,000 Churchill Downs Handicap, a grade II event. Both races are run Kentucky Derby Day.The Pepsi Bassinet Stakes, scheduled for Sept. 1, is part of the River Downs Cradle Stakes Weekend Festival. The $200,000 Miller Genuine Draft Cradle Stakes for 2-year-olds has had the same sponsor for 25 years.