The former Brad Cox trainee, who earned over $3 million during his racing career, turned in three relaxed rides over two days of competition and has made it to the weekend. The 9-year-old will have the opportunity to take part in his division's Finale Championship on Saturday.

“He's just so fun,” said Gans. “When we had the big gallop up the hill today [in the Mock Hunt], he really took a big hold of me… but when we got to the top of the hill, he stopped in the check and just looked around. I think that's really hard for a lot of Thoroughbreds to be able to turn it on and switch it off–you show him something and he gets it and he's calm and cool. The biggest difference is the brain on him. His brain being so good makes such a difference–he could do anything.”

Click here for a complete Thoroughbred Makeover schedule.

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After being gelded once his racing career ended last year at this time, the former Brad Cox trainee with a $3,025,996 in earnings over a seven-year career for Donegal Racing will be ridden in the event by Gina Gans in the field hunting division. The 9-year-old will jump obstacles at the Horse Park's grass steeplechase course.

Recently retired racehorses from across the U.S. will participate in the largest Thoroughbred retraining competition in the world in various disciplines including barrel racing, competitive trail, dressage, jumping, polo, ranch work and freestyle with Keeneland serving as a major sponsor.

Click here for more information.

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The 'TDN Rising Star' spent some time at WinStar after his championships season and, with Bob Baffert serving his suspension, was sent to Pletcher in May with an eye on the late season sophomore highlights. (Click here for Pletcher's thoughts in Mike Kane's Saturday feature).

“We're hoping that with the good fortune we had with his sire Quality Road and him making his debut for us in the Amsterdam, which produced a track record performance, that hopefully some of that good fortune will follow through here,” said Pletcher, who seeks his fifth Amsterdam win.

While he will be the favorite, he won't have it easy. Corniche is joined by Grade I winner Gunite (Gun Runner) and graded stakes-winning fellow Pletcher trainee My Prankster (Into Mischief), who finished one-two in Churchill's Maxfield S. last out July 3. The champ also faces one of his former shedrow mates from the Baffert barn in GISW Pinehurst (Twirling Candy).

Also on tap at Saratoga Sunday is the GII Bowling Green S. for turf marathoners. Grade I winners Arklow (Arch) and Rockemperor (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}).

Juju's Map Headlines Monmouth Oaks

Never worse than second in a juvenile campaign that included a win in the GI Darley Alcibiades S., Juju's Map (Liam's Map) looks to return to winning ways Sunday in the GIII Monmouth Oaks. Making her seasonal debut with a dominant optional claimer score on the GI Kentucky Oaks undercard, the dark bay checked in third as the favorite last out in Belmont's GII Mother Goose S. June 25.

She will be made to work for it though with the presence of Meydan sensation and 'TDN Rising Star' Shahama (Munnings), who receives Lasix for the first time Sunday. The $425,000 OBSAPR acquisition was second in the Mother Goose after rallying for sixth in the Oaks.

A pair of Gun Runner fillies look to add to their sire's stakes success at Monmouth last weekend in SW Shotgun Hottie and GSP Runaway Wife.

Sunday's graded action wraps at Del Mar with the GII Eddie Read S., where GII Charles Whittingham S. top two Beyond Brilliant (Twirling Candy) and Masteroffoxhounds (War Front) top the field.

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“He's great and looks fantastic. I think the right thing to do, from a timing standpoint, is to look at the Hopeful and work our way back from there,” Cox said Sunday. “I think we'll skip the [Aug. 13 GII] Saratoga Special, because it's asking a lot of him and this gives him more time. We brought him back quick off of his maiden win, so he'll have all summer here. It's a great place to be, so there's no rush.”

Mo Strike was Cox's third winner of the three-day old Saratoga meeting. The trainer will look to add to his graded tally in the coming weeks with Caravel (Mizzen Mat) looking to repeat in July 23 GIII Caress S. and Arklow (Arch) making his 8-year-old debut off a nine-month layoff in the July 31 GII Bowling Green S.

Caravel and Arklow both breezed over the Oklahoma turf training track Sunday, the former working a half-mile in :49.60 (24/52) with jockey Tyler Gaffalione up and the latter drilling five furlongs in 1:01.72 (2/15).

Cox said he was particularly impressed with the way Caravel has trained since her win in the June 10 GIII Intercontinental S.

“She was amazing. She was amazing last week [:47.22 (1/29)] and this week she was too, but a little more steady–a maintenance move,” Cox said. “Tyler was on her; he's worked her several times in Kentucky and she looks like she's set up for a big race Saturday. I don't know if we need to see any improvement from her, just more of the same. She likes it up here and we're hoping she can duplicate her run from last year.”

Arklow has not raced since finishing fifth in the GI Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Belmont last October.

“It's a tall task off the layoff, but he's shown the ability to run really well off layoffs,” Cox said. “Last year, his first race back was in the Louisville H. and he won that. I'm pretty happy with how he's doing.”

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The Hirsch, slated as Race 7, is part of a lucrative 11-race card that also features the Grade 2, $250,000 Vosburgh [Race 5], a six-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds and up which offers a “Win and You're In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Sprint on Nov. 6 at Del Mar; and the Grade 3, $150,000 Matron [Race 6] at six furlongs on turf for juvenile fillies. First post on Saturday is 12:35 p.m. Eastern.

Gufo, a last-out winner of the Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Sword Dancer on August 28 at Saratoga Race Course, has never finished off the board in a dozen starts sporting a ledger of 7-2-3 and lifetime earnings of $1,138,510.

The consistent Declaration of War chestnut will face a quality field which includes returning rival Japan, as well as previous Joe Hirsch Turf Classic victors Channel Maker [2018, 2020] and Arklow [2019].

Trained by Christophe Clement, Gufo earned a career-best 104 Beyer Speed Figure when fending off Japan by a neck in the Sword Dancer. The talented turf stayer raced along the rail through the early stages of the Sword Dancer, picking up ground past the second turn and into the backstretch. He was in command past the three-sixteenths and held off Japan's menacing outside rally.

Prior to the Sword Dancer, Gufo was a one-length winner of the 12-furlong Grand Couturier on July 5 at Belmont.

During his sophomore campaign last year, Gufo secured graded stakes triumphs in the nine-furlong Grade 3 Kent at Delaware Park and captured the 10-furlong Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational two starts later.

While stretching out to 1 ½ miles has paid dividends for Gufo, Clement said adding blinkers for the Grand Couturier score has been equally as beneficial.

“The blinkers made him a bit more manageable,” Clement said. “It's nice to have a horse that is so consistent at that level. We'll need some racing luck like always. He's run well in every Grade 1 in New York on turf this year and that's what it's all about. It's a Grade 1 so it will be a tough race by definition, but we'll be there.”

Joel Rosario, the pilot aboard Gufo in six of his 12 starts, will have the call from post 3.

Japan seeks to turn the tables on Gufo for trainer Aidan O'Brien who shipped Cape Blanco to the United States to take the 2011 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic.

Owned by Coolmore triumvirate Michael Tabor, Mrs. John Magnier and Derrick Smith in partnership with Masaaki Matsushima, Japan gradually improved position throughout the Sword Dancer and attempted to collar Gufo in the final furlong coming up a nose short.

The 5-year-old son of Galileo was a two-time Group 1 winner in 2019, defeating three other Group 1 winners in the Juddmonte International in August 2019 at York. He captured the Group 1 Grand Prix De Paris in May 2019 at Longchamp.

Winless in five starts in 2020, Japan recaptured his winning form this season with a pair of Group 3 triumphs. In his seasonal bow, he won the Ormonde on May 6 at Chester, three starts ahead of a victory in the Meld on July 15 at Leopardstown.

“The turns at Saratoga didn't inconvenience him,” said O'Brien's travelling assistant T.J. Comerford. “He went around Chester in England which has pretty tight turns. He just probably didn't get the run of the race when he wanted. He came out of it well. He's going the right way. He's training well and Aidan is very happy with him. All he has to do is run like he did the last time and that gives him a good shot.”

Wayne Lordan ships in to ride from post 7.

A five-time graded stakes winning 7-year-old, Channel Maker captured both the Joe Hirsch and Sword Dancer last year ahead of a third-place finish in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf, which earned him Champion Turf Horse honors.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, Channel Maker won both of his respective Joe Hirsch Turf Classics in wire-to-wire fashion garnering career best 108 Beyers.

After defeating a field of four Grade 1-winners by 4 ½ lengths in 2018, Channel Maker earned his second Joe Hirsch Turf Classic victory two years later, winning by 2 ¼ lengths under Manny Franco. He joined his sire English Channel amongst a compact group of horses to have won multiple runnings of the Joe Hirsch. A triumph this year would make Channel Maker the only horse to win three.

Channel Maker, one of five millionaires in the field, boasts the largest bankroll with earnings of $3,266,551. He is also the most seasoned amongst his competitors with a record of 41-7-6-5.

Franco will ride from post 6.

Donegal Racing, Joseph Bulger and the Estate of Peter Coneway's Arklow, the 2019 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic winner, will vie to join Channel Maker and Val's Prince [1997, 99] as horses to win non-consecutive Joe Hirsch Turf Classics.

Trained by Brad Cox, the durable 7-year-old son of Arch secured his only Grade 1 victory when defeating Channel Maker by a half-length two years ago.

Sporting a ledger of 35-9-8-2, Arklow has won at least one graded stakes race every year since 2017. After rounding out his 6-year-old season with a win in the Grade 2 Hollywood Turf Cup in November at Del Mar, Arklow made his seasonal bow when coming from 10 lengths off the pace to win the Grade 3 Louisville on May 15 at Churchill Downs.

Arklow arrives off a late closing second in the Grade 3 Calumet Turf Cup on September 11 at Kentucky Downs, a race he had won in 2018 and 2020.

“He had a tough trip last out at Kentucky Downs but he ran a really good race,” Cox said. “He came out of the race in good shape and had two nice works on the turf at Belmont. He's made almost $3 million in his career and it would be exciting to win this race for the second time.”

Jose Lezcano picks up the mount from post 2.

In pursuit of his third Joe Hirsch victory, trainer Chad Brown will saddle Serve the King [post 1, Irad Ortiz, Jr.] and Rockemperor [post 4, Javier Castellano].

Peter Brant's Serve the King earned his first stakes victory last out in the restricted John's Call on August 25 at Saratoga, which he won a half-length. The lightly-raced 5-year-old son of Kingman sports a consistent record of 9-4-1-1.

Rockemperor, owned by Madaket Stable, Michael Dubb, Wonder Stable, Michael E. Kisber and Michael J. Caruso, was fourth in the Sword Dancer last out. The seven-time graded stakes-placed son of Holy Roman Emperor last found the winner's circle in a 10-furlong allowance optional claiming tilt on June 26 at Belmont. He will race with blinkers off on Saturday.

Completing the field is Three Diamonds Farm's Cross Border who enters off a third in the Sword Dancer for trainer Mike Maker. Unplaced in the last two Joe Hirsch Turf Classics, the New York-bred 7-year-old secured graded stakes victories with back-to-back wins in the Grade 2 Bowling Green at Saratoga [2020-21].

Cross Border was bred in New York by Berkshire Stud and B.D. Gibbs. Luis Saez will ride from post 5.

The Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational is named in honor of the late journalist, the founding president of the National Turf Writers Association, and recipient of the Eclipse Award of Merit [1992]. The press box at Saratoga Race Course is named in honor of Hirsch.

America's Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the fall meet at Belmont Park on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

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Saturday, Kentucky Downs
CALUMET TURF CUP S.-GII, $715,105, Kentucky Downs, 9-11, 3yo/up, 1 1/2mT, 2:25.70 (NCR),, fm.
1–IMPERADOR (ARG), 122, h, 5, by Treasure Beach (GB)
                1st Dam: Duchess Royale (Ire), by Danehill
                2nd Dam: Fantasy Royale, by Pleasant Colony
                3rd Dam: Nijinsky's Lover, by Nijinsky II
O-Bonne Chance Farm, LLC & Stud R D I, LLC.; B-Haras Rio Dois
Irmaos S.R.L. (ARG); T-Paulo H. Lobo; J-Joseph Talamo.
$317,130. Lifetime Record: MG1SW-Arg, 14-4-4-0, $538,268.
Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Arklow, 124, h, 7, Arch–Unbridled Empire, by Empire Maker.
($160,000 Ylg '15 KEESEP). O-Donegal Racing, Joseph Bulger &
Estate of Peter Coneway; B-John R. Penn & Frank Penn (KY);
T-Brad H. Cox. $186,000.
3–Glynn County, 124, c, 4, Kitten's Joy–Quad Tens, by Rock
Hard Ten. ($45,000 Ylg '18 KEESEP; $80,000 2yo '19 OBSAPR).
O-Three Diamonds Farm; B-Kenneth L. & Sarah K. Ramsey (KY);
T-Michael J. Maker. $93,000. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.
Margins: NK, 1 1/4, 2 1/4. Odds: 8.60, 2.30, 6.20.
Also Ran: Ajourneytofreedom, Epic Bromance, Channel Cat, Breakpoint (Chi), Big Dreaming, Dynadrive, Artemus Eagle, Tide of the Sea, Crossfirehurricane. Scratched: Bluegrass Parkway, Fantasioso (Arg), Time for Trouble, Zulu Alpha.

“It felt great,” Talamo said. “Hats off to the horse and to the trainer, Paulo Lobo, for the training job he did. I tried to be a good passenger the whole way around there. He settled in good, and turning for home, he had a good turn of foot.”

Geroux said of his trouble, “The horse ran great. It was just a tough beat, bad luck. I had a great trip. I was saving ground, he was traveling great. I thought I had the horses measured in front of me. I thought I had the speed turning for home, and those horses came back at us quick. I had to take a hold and come around, and it was too late. The winner went all the way around. If I split horses and get through, they'll tell me it's a great ride. I didn't. I got squeezed, and it's a bad ride. He's a horse that always tries hard.”

A dual Group 1 winner in his native country under the tutelage of Diego Pena, Imperador was second in a Churchill optional claimer last September before checking in ninth in the GII Seabiscuit H. at Del Mar Nov. 28. He was fourth upon seasonal debut in a Keeneland allowance Apr. 15, and could only manage sixth behind Arklow after going for an early run in the May 15 GIII Louisville S. Imperador was last seen belying 23-1 odds in the GI United Nations S. at Monmouth July 17.

“I was expecting a huge effort,” Lobo said. “He ran good at Churchill, the first time running a mile and a half here in America. He ran very good in New Jersey and he was doing very good for this race… I was talking with Jerry Bailey this morning and he saw everything that I saw and he liked the horse. He saw the race at Churchill and the race in New Jersey. And I told him, 'Man, he has been training very well and I am very confident today.'”

Imperador is already nominated for the Breeders' Cup and that'll be the target.

“In the Breeders' Cup we are going to be in deeper waters, but this horse I think is peaking at the right time,” Lobo said. “I think he is going to enjoy Del Mar. South American horses also like Del mar. Let's see. Let's see. Let's hope for the best.”

Lobo and Bonne Chance Farm also took a division of the TVG S. Wednesday with In Love (Brz) (Agnes Gold {Jpn}).

“We have a very good team behind us here with Paulo and all the crew at his barn who did an excellent job to bring those two horses in top condition. And also, all the people in South America deserve some credit as well to develop those horses into being champions,” said Bonne Chance CEO Alberto Figueiredo. “They're proving it here. Imagine, we're bringing three horses and three are stakes winners: [2020 GI Shadwell Turf Mile winner] Ivar (Brz) (Agnes Gold {Jpn}), Imperador and In Love. That's a huge accomplishment for a South American stable with just a couple handful of mares.”

Pedigree Notes:

The well-traveled Treasure Beach competed in seven countries, with his highest-level victories coming in the 2011 Irish Derby and Secretariat S. The son of the late Galileo (Ire) now splits his time between Florida's Pleasant Acres Stallions and Argentina, where the majority of his success has come. He has six Group 1 winners in the Southern Hemisphere, and 11 black-type winners and eight graded/group winners overall (two in the Northern Hemisphere). The winner's dam was purchased for $20,000 at the 2010 Keeneland November sale while in foal to Arch.

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In his sixth start in North America, Imperador with jockey Joseph Talamo broke cleanly from the rail post and settled in eighth as Epic Bromance and Big Dreaming traded the lead throughout the first mile of the Turf Cup. On the race's final bend, Channel Cat made a move for the lead, with Talamo taking Imperador to the outside of horses to find running room for their closing run.

Into the long stretch at the Franklin, Ky., track, Imperador challenged Channel Cat and Epic Bromance, ranging up on the outside as they shortened stride and fell back. As Imperador dueled with Glynn Country for the lead, favored Arklow was trapped behind a wall of horses, finally finding running room on the outside to make his bid. Imperador got clear of the field, holding off a surging Arklow to win by a neck. Glynn County was third. Ajourneytofreedom, Epic Bromance, Channel Cat, Breakpoint, Big Dreaming, Dynadrive, Artemus Eagle, Tide of the Sea, and Crossfirehurricane rounded out the order of finish.

The final time for the 1 1/2 mile was 2:25.70, a new track record. Find this race's chart here.

Imperador paid $19.20, $8.00, and $5.00. Arklow paid $4.00 and $2.80. Glynn County paid $3.80.

The Grade 1 Calumet Turf Cup is part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series. Winners of Challenge Series events receive a fees-paid, guaranteed spot in the corresponding race at the Breeders' Cup World Championships Nov. 6 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.

Bred in Argentina by Haras Rio Dois Irmaos S. R. L., Imperador is out of Treasure Beach (GB) out of the Danehill mare Duchess Royale. The 5-year-old horse is owned by Bonne Chance Farm and Stud R.D.I. LLC and trained by Paulo Lobo. With his win in the Calumet Turf Cup, Imperador's 2021 record is one win in four starts, with his lifetime record improving to four wins in 14 starts.

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The Super Saturday is the marquee attraction among six huge days of racing Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sept. 11 and 12. First post is 12:20 p.m. Central. All the races will be shown on TVG.

Purses for next Saturday's 11 races total $4,692,000, of which $2.2 million comes from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund for registered Kentucky-bred horses. That's the vast majority of the horses running, but even the base purse that everyone competes for reflects some of the richest pots in the country.

“The card is amazing,” said Kentucky Downs Vice President for Racing Ted Nicholson. “Hats off to our racing office.”

The headliners are the $1 million Grade 2 Calumet Turf Cup at 1 1/2 miles and the $1 million Grade 3 FanDuel Turf Sprint at six furlongs. Both are “Win and You're In” stops on the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series and will be televised live by NBC. The Turf Cup winner will get a fees-paid berth in the $4 million Longines Breeders' Cup Turf and the FanDuel winner the same in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif., on Nov. 6.

Donegal Racing's Arklow, the 2020 and 2018 Calumet Turf Cup winner, renews his rivalry with Michael Hui's 2019 victor Zulu Alpha, who was sidelined after last year's stakes and is 0 for 2 this year. Arklow would be the first three-time winner of the race. But they'll have to beat another Grade 1 winner in Channel Cat, returning to Kentucky Downs for the first time since he captured the 2018 Dueling Grounds Derby. He's owned by stakes sponsor Calumet Farm.

Arklow won Churchill Downs' Louisville Stakes and most recently was seventh in the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap, but beaten only 1 3/4 lengths for everything.

Mike Maker, a five-time meet-leader and Kentucky Downs' record-holder in career wins, has five of the 12 horses in the body of the Calumet Turf Cup, headed by Zulu Alpha. The others are Tide of the Sea, a Kentucky Downs winner last year and Gulfstream's Grade 3 McKnight this year; Ellis Park's Kentucky Downs TVG Preview winner Bluegrass Parkway; Grade 2 Belmont Gold Cup third-place finisher Ajourneytofreedom, and Glynn County, third in Arlington Park's Grade 1 Mr. D, the race formerly known as the Arlington Million. A sixth Maker entrant, Dynadrive, needs three scratches to get in the field.

Also in the field: Breakpoint, a triple Grade 1 winner in his native Chile, goes for his first U.S. win in three starts; Irish Group 3 winner Crossfirehurricane; Grade 1 United Nations runner-up Imperador and United Nations third Epic Bromance. Big Dreaming, second in last year's Dueling Grounds Derby, needs a defection to get in.

The FanDuel Turf Sprint brings back last year's top three finishers in Imprimis and the dead-heat runners-up Bombard and Front Run the Fed, who finished a neck behind the winner. But the favorite is likely to be boys-beater Got Stormy, winner of last year's Kentucky Downs Ladies Sprint over very soft turf in her first attempt at sprinting. Got Stormy is the only filly or mare to win Saratoga's Grade 1 Fourstardave, having done so in her last start and in 2019 after taking second last year. She has been second in three other Grade 1 starts against males, including in the 2019 Breeders' Cup Mile.

“We've never backed down from a challenge,” says Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse, who acknowledges his desire to pad Got Stormy's own Hall of Fame credentials.

Other challengers: Casa Creed, winner of Belmont's Grade 1 Jackpocket Jaipur at the six-furlong distance; multiple graded stakes-winner Diamond Oops; the blossoming Fast Boat, a past winner over the course who last out won Saratoga's Grade 3 Troy Stakes, and Born Great, who last year won a Kentucky Downs maiden and allowance race in the span of a week.

The Richard Baltas-trained Venetian Harbor ships in from California for the $600,000 The Mint Ladies Sprint. The 4-year-old filly has been worse than second only once in 10 starts. In two turf races, she was second in her debut and won Santa Anita's Grade 2 Monrovia.

Also in from the West Coast is the multiple stakes winner and graded stakes-placed Superstition for Hall of Famer Richard Mandella. John Sadler sends out Santa Anita stakes-winner Constantia in the overflow field of 14.

The beer will be flowing in Henderson if Yes It's Ginger prevails. There were so many people connected to Henderson beer distributor Mike “Hotdog” Utley, as well as the Brilliant Racing and Tagg Team Racing partnerships, that the winner's circle presentation had to move to the main track after “Ginger” prevailed in the Kentucky Downs TVG Preview Ladies Sprint, which gave her a free roll in this 6 1/2-furlong race.

The Casse-trained Jeanie B lost a Grade 2 stakes at Woodbine by a nose in her last start for owner CJ Thoroughbreds, whose managing partner Corey Johnsen was president and part-owner of Kentucky Downs before its sale to Ron Winchell and Marc Falcone.

Violenza enters the race off victory in a $100,000 turf sprint at Colonial Downs in her stakes debut for trainer Ian Wilkes and his son-in-law jockey Chris Landeros. The Maker-trained Jakarta has been off form but won a starter-allowance race here last year.

The $750,000 Kentucky Downs Ladies Mile is headlined by 5-for-6 Princess Grace, winner of three straight stakes capped by Del Mar's Grade 2 Yellow Ribbon. The Mike Stidham-trained Princess Grace shares the 126-pound high-weight with 2020 One Dreamer winner Dalika.

She'sonthewarpath, an eight-time winner out of 19 starts, is in peak form off of two stakes victories at Ellis Park. Florida trainer Saffie Joseph has the horse to catch in Shifty She, a two-time stakes-winner at Gulfstream and a good third in Saratoga's De La Rose won by 2020 Ladies Mile winner Regal Glory.

Summer in Saratoga, an allowance winner here last year for trainer Joe Sharp, won Indiana Grand's Indiana General Assembly Distaff in her last start.

With The Lir Jet, Qatar Racing will try to win the $600,000 Franklin-Simpson for the third straight year, and the first time with the stakes a Grade 2. Qatar Racing won last year's stakes with Guildsman, who like The Lir Jet is trained by Brendan Walsh, and in 2019 with the Doug O'Neill-trained Legends of War. The Lir Jet won Royal Ascot's Group 2 Norfolk as a 2-year-old but is winless since. He makes his debut both in the United States and as a gelding.

Sharing high weight status of 124 pounds with The Lir Jet is the Eddie Kenneally-trained Point Me By, winner of Arlington Park's Grade 1 Bruce D. Stakes (formerly the Secretariat).

The field of twelve 3-year-old stakes-winners, with three others on the also-eligible list, includes the filly Miss Amulet, a Group 2 winner in England and a close second in a Group 1. Other contenders in a talented field: Woodbine's Grade 3 Marine winner Easy Time; the Wesley Ward duo of Churchill Downs' War Chant winner Next and Ellis Park's Dade Park Dash victor Into the Sunrise, and American Derby winner Tango Tango Tango. Other stakes-winners are Bodenheimer, King of Miami, Omaha City, and County Final. Last year's Kentucky Downs Juvenile Sprint runner-up Fauci, also trained by Ward, needs a scratch to get in the field.

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It's different, to be sure. Once an obscure little meet quietly contested at a track called Dueling Grounds in a small town on the border with Tennessee, much closer to Nashville than Kentucky's big cities, Louisville and Lexington, it has flourished, gotten noticed and embraced. This year it features six graded stakes, three of them with $1,000,000 purses. Two of them are part of the Sept. 11 program with five graded stakes card and are Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” races that will be broadcast live on Sept. 11 on NBC.

The season opens Sunday and continues with the second program on Labor Day.

Following an off day Tuesday, the meet rolls on with programs Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday over the undulating 1 5/16 miles course. Post time is 12:20 p.m. Central.

“All signs point to a spectacular meet,” said Ted Nicholson, Kentucky Downs' Vice President for Racing. “We think jockeys will be thrilled with the extensive renovation to our turf course. We know horseplayers love our full fields and large betting pools. For the final four days, Kentucky Downs will be the center of American racing, and we look forward to putting on an outstanding show.”

Horsemen know all about the purse money available, the highest daily figures in North America, and fill the entry box for the six-day season contested over eight days.

“The most difficult thing about Kentucky Downs is getting in the races,” trainer Al Stall said.

Grace Clark photo

Reacting to the demand this year, track officials have split a pair of races. When there were 31 entries for a maiden special weight race for 2-year-old fillies on opening day, it was divided into two full 12-horses divisions, with a total of seven on also-eligible lists, and bumped the program from 10 to 11 races. The $400,000 listed TVG Stakes on Wednesday drew 21 entries and it was split into two divisions, both with $400,000 purses.

Horseplayers relish the large fields, the lowest blended takeout rates in America and big payouts. In 2020, with no fans on track, the all-sources handle for the first six-day meeting was $59,828,441.

Track officials market Kentucky Downs as a bettors' paradise. The $2 win payoff average of $16.73 keyed strong returns in exotic wagers. According to the track stats, last year's average return for a $1 exacta was $65.32, the $1 double average payout was $75.99, the 50-cent trifecta average was $269.20, the 50-cent Pick 3 averaged $374.06, he 50-cent Pick 4 average payoff was $3,295.88. and the average payout for the 50-cent Pick 5 was $23,076.

Ken Kirchner, the Director Wagering Development at Kentucky Downs, spent many years in that role with the Breeders' Cup. He said the meet is distinct in America because its large fields are made up of horses from across the country.

“One of the highlights for handicappers and for fans is that you get this amalgamation of horses from different racing circuits around the country that you normally only get at a meet like the Breeders' Cup,” Kirchner said. “When you have more than $2 million a day in purses, not only are your stakes races this mix of New York, Kentucky, Florida, California and other horses, you have that in the maiden and allowance races across the board. It's just a fascinating exercise for the handicapper to say, 'Gosh, I can find great value every single race of this meet.'”

Average Purses on Opening Day $218,890

In the decade since the pari-mutuel electronic gaming machines, now called Historical Horse Racing (HHR), were approved to fund purses at the track, the daily average purse has skyrocketed from a nondescript $25,600 in 2011. The average purse for the 11 races on opening day is $218,890.

Earlier this year, the HHR program survived a serious challenge in the Kentucky legislature to the legality of the 3,625 machines in the state. If the HHR pari-mutuel gaming bill had not passed in the legislature, the track likely would have closed.

The three $1 million races are part of the $10 million that is available in the 16 stakes scheduled during the meet. Including that stakes money, purses total $15,259,400. The is a notable jump from the $11.69 million in purses in 2020. The meet's overnight races – maiden, allowance and claiming – are scheduled to average $876,000 a day.

On Aug. 9, the track announced an eight percent increase in the purses for non-stakes races, except the four $100,000 starter allowances that are qualifiers for the Claiming Crown at Gulfstream Park in December. Maiden special weight races for Kentucky-breds carry a purse of $135,000; first-level allowance races $145,800 and second-level allowance races $156,600. By comparison, the maiden and first-level allowance purses are about double the purses Sunday for similar conditions at Del Mar, while the maiden special weight purses at Saratoga are $100,000 and the allowance purses are $103,000 and $105,000.

Two-time Grade I winner Got Stormy (Get Stormy) is the headliner in the six-furlong $1 million FanDuel Turf Sprint where she will face males again. She earned her second win over males in the GI Fourstardave on August 14. No filly or mare has won the Turf Sprint, which was first run in 1998.

Got Stormy has won 12 of 30 starts, with five seconds and three thirds, and $2,398,403 in purse earnings. In addition to her Fourstardave victories, Got Stormy has finished second four times against males in Grade I stakes in New York, California and Canada.

In the Turf Sprint she is expected to face the Bill Mott-trained Casa Creed (Jimmy Creed) in third consecutive race. Casa Creed picked up his first Grade I victory in the Jaipur on June 5 while Got Stormy was fifth. Got Stormy surprised in the Fourstardave at 12-1 and Casa Creed was third.

Donegal Racing's Arklow will try to become the first three-time winner of the $1 million Calumet Turf Cup. He won the race in 2018 and 2020 and was second in 2019. Arklow is expected to face Calumet Farm's Grade I winner Channel Cat (English Channel) and the 2019 winner Zulu Alpha (Street Cry {Ire}).

Bloom Racing's veteran Snapper Sinclair (City Zip) will race at the track for the fourth time when he starts in a division of the TVG Stakes on Wednesday. He has won two stakes at the track and last year finished second in the race now called the Mint Million Mile.

“We always look forward to-actually point our stable to-this boutique yet premium meeting at Kentucky Downs, said owner Jeff Bloom. “It's unique and charming and it doesn't hurt that that it provides incredibly lucrative purses.”

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Topping the quartet are a pair of $300,000 offerings – the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks for 3-year-old fillies and the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap presented by The Japan Racing Association. The former is run at nine furlongs on grass, while the latter goes at a mile and three eighths on the green for 3-year-olds and up.

Also on the agenda is another $300,000 Grade 2 special, the Del Mar Mile on the main track. The fourth stakes is the Grade 3, $100,000 Torrey Pines Stakes for sophomore fillies traveling a mile on the dirt.

The Oaks has lured a field of nine including a pair of shippers: Head of Plains Partners' Fluffy Socks in from New York and Yuesheng Zhang's Soaring Sky aboard from her native Ireland.

The Del Mar Handicap will bring out 10 competitors and sets up for a clash of titans between two of the best grass route horses in the country in LNJ Foxwoods' United and Donegal Racing, Bulger and Coneway's Arklow.

Six will go hard and heavy at the classic flat mile in the Del Mar Mile and each and everyone of them is a major stakes winner. Their purse earnings got past the $5.4-million mark and they're all seasoned racehorses eligible to fire a big shot Saturday.

In the Torrey Pines, seven will face the starter, each of them eyeing their first graded stakes score. The Fast Anna filly I'm So Anna has the most bragging rights in the group currently with a pair of Cal-bred stakes on her ledger and $289,740 in the bank.

The “undercard” races will be run like this: Torrey Pines – 6th Race; Del Mar Mile – 7th Race; Del Mar Oaks – 9th Race; Del Mar Handicap – 11th Race. The TVG Pacific Classic is the day's 10th Race.

The key prep race for the Del Mar Oaks is the Grade 2, $150,000 San Clemente Stakes, run at Del Mar at a mile on the turf on July 24. The one, two, three finishers from the race — Kaleem Shah's Madone, Dubb, Gevertz or Nentwig, et al's Going Global and Slam Dunk Racing or Platts' Tetragonal – are all back to try their luck in the more demanding and more lucrative Oaks.

The likely battle royale between United and Arklow in the Del Mar Handicap will be a fitting nitecap to a delicious day of racing. The pair of turf behemoths bring plenty of bragging rights to the race: United, a 6-year-old gelding by Giant's Causeway, has won nine races and $1,675,549. He was second, beaten a head, in this race last year. Arklow also has won nine races, but his bankroll goes past his chief rival at $2,755,746. The long-winded stretch kicker shipped to Del Mar last fall and made short work of the Hollywood Turf Cup at a mile and a half. Both runners will have their regular riders – Flavien Prat on United and Florent Geroux on Arklow.

The Del Mar Handicap is a Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” Challenge race that guarantees the winner all expenses paid admission into the $4 million Breeders' Cup Turf, which will be run at Del Mar on Saturday, Nov. 6.

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