Kentucky Downs will begin its lucrative five-day, all-turf meet Sept. 3 with four stakes—two of them for 2-year-olds at seven furlongs—worth a total of $1.4 million. The 10-race card saw 136 horses make the overnight.
Kentucky Downs will have the highest daily average purses in North America at roughly $1.56 million per program for a total of more than $7.5 million. After opening day, racing will be held Sept. 8, 10, 11, and 15. Churchill Downs will begin its meet Sept. 16, so there will be no overlap in dates this year.
A major draw at the track on the Tennessee border is maiden special weight events that carry a purse of $130,000—for Kentucky-bred runners—up $10,000 from 2015. Horses not bred in the state will race for $58,000 in maiden allowance races.
The $350,000 Kentucky Downs Juvenile drew a field of 12, including JSM Equine's Ancient Warfare, a Quality Road colt trained by Mark Casse. In his lone start July 30, Ancient Warfare rallied from eighth early to win a 5 1/2-furlong maiden special weight test on grass at Saratoga Race Course by two lengths under Jose Lezcano, who is named to ride Saturday.
After two starts in the Southwest on dirt, undefeated Prados Way, owned by Kathryn East and trained by Steve Asmussen, will make his grass debut. The Tizway colt out of the El Prado mare Prado Lady won the Manzano Stakes last time out at the Downs at Albuquerque and will stretch out another furlong for the Kentucky Downs Juvenile.
A field of 12 with one on the also-eligible list was entered in the $350,000 Exacta Systems Juvenile Fillies. Trainer Ben Colebrook holds a solid hand with two: Beverly Anderson and Edward Seltzer's Caroline Test, second in the Ellis Park Juvenile against males; and Katherine Ball's China Grove, a City Zip filly who already has raced in three stakes.
"We don''t know about the grass, but the family says she'll handle it no problem," Colebrook said of Caroline Test, a First Defence filly. "Her first race was supposed to on the turf, but they took it off and she ran so well that we tried her against the boys. I think she'll handle Kentucky Downs just fine."
China Grove returns from Saratoga after a troubled fourth-place finish in the Bolton Landing Stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs on the turf. It was the first grass outing for China Grove, who broke her maiden in her debut at Keeneland in April.
"We were experimenting to see if she liked the grass," Colebrook said. "(Jockey) Jose Ortiz loved the way she went on the turf, but she just didn't have very good racing luck. I don't think the seven-furlong distance is a problem."
The other two stakes, each worth $350,000, are the Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf at one mile and the Kentucky Downs Turf Sprint at 6 1/2 furlongs. First post time for opening day is 1:25 p.m. CDT.
Kentucky Downs, Saturday, September 03, 2016, Race 8Entries: Kentucky Downs Juvenile S.
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Raising Rumors (TX) Miguel Mena 122 Randy L. Morse 8/1 2 2Zunino (KY) Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr. 120 Michael Stidham 15/1 3 3Han Sense (IA) Florent Geroux 122 Michael J. Maker 7/2 4 4Capt. Grider (KY) Drayden Van Dyke 120 Dante Zanelli, Jr. 20/1 5 5Ancient Warfare (KY) Jose Lezcano 120 Mark E. Casse 4/1 6 6Parlor (KY) Declan Cannon 120 Eddie Kenneally 10/1 7 7Preemptive Strike (KY) Joseph Rocco, Jr. 120 Ben Colebrook 12/1 8 8Hot Dad (KY) Corey J. Lanerie 120 Michael J. Maker 15/1 9 9B Rod Maclean (KY) Carlos Villasana 120 Tommy C. Short 8/1 10 10Prados Way (KY) James Graham 122 Steven M. Asmussen 9/2 11 11Cold Snack Thirty (FL) Megan Fadlovich 120 Tevis Q. McCauley 30/1 12 12All Right (KY) Channing Hill 118 Kellyn Gorder 15/1
Kentucky Downs, Saturday, September 03, 2016, Race 10Entries: Exacta Systems Juvenile Fillies S.
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Zyxyz (KY) Joseph Rocco, Jr. 120 Joe Sharp 20/1 2 2Southern Sis (FL) Jose Lezcano 120 Mark E. Casse 8/1 3 3Lady Hansen (KY) Jesus Lopez Castanon 120 Michael J. Maker 10/1 4 4Maluku (KY) Carlos H. Marquez, Jr. 120 Michael Stidham 12/1 5 5Safe With Me (KY) Forest Boyce 120 H. Graham Motion 8/1 6 6Lull (KY) Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr. 120 Christophe Clement 5/2 7 7Caroline Test (KY) Florent Geroux 120 Ben Colebrook 10/1 8 8Macy's Attitude (KY) Carlos Villasana 120 Tommy C. Short 50/1 9 9Royal Asscher (KY) Chris Landeros 120 Mark E. Casse 20/1 10 10Forest Circle (KY) Robby Albarado 120 Michael Stidham 6/1 11 11China Grove (KY) James Graham 120 Ben Colebrook 9/2 12 12Grandma's Princess (TX) Miguel Mena 122 Randy L. Morse 15/1 13 13Youngest Daughter (KY) Drayden Van Dyke 118 Victoria H. Oliver 30/1