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All-Sources Handle up at Turfway Meet

All-sources handle rose 17.1% during Turfway Park's Winter/Spring meet which concluded Saturday. In total, more than $170 million was wagered at the meet, nearly $25 million more than 2023.

A total of $18.8 million in prize money, including funds from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund, was distributed across 438 races at the 50-day meet.

With two additional racing days from the 2023 meet, Turfway Park saw an increase of 152 starters.

“Our successful season at Turfway Park would not be possible without the support of all owners, trainers, jockeys and horseplayers,” said Chip Bach, general manager at Turfway Park. “The racing product at Turfway Park has continued to thrive, thanks to the continued investments from Churchill Downs Incorporated and our dedicated staff here at Turfway Park.”

Jockey Luan Machado was a dominant force in the rider standings throughout the Winter/Spring Meet, tallying 62 wins from 289 starts. Machado's win total was 25 more than runner-up Gerardo Corrales and his mounts earned $2.3 million. This was Machado's fourth leading rider title at Turfway Park.

Trainer Eric Foster notched his first title at Turfway Park, winning 15 races from 86 starts. Foster finished one win ahead of Brad Cox and three in front of Juan Cano and John Ennis.

Foster's horses banked $837,777 in purse money while winning at 17%.

Christina Estvanko and Margo Scott led all owners with eight wins. The partnership's horses made 37 starts while earning $176,177.

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Turfway to Rebuild Stable Gate in Aftermath of Horse Escape onto Highway

Turfway Park in Florence, Kentucky, will be installing a new stable gate entryway after the current season ends in March to try and avoid a repeat of the havoc caused on the night of Feb. 1 when a loose Thoroughbred escaped from the backstretch and ran onto nearby Interstate 71/75 before being captured without serious harm.

Barbara Borden, the chief state steward presiding at Turfway, detailed the incident during Tuesday's Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) meeting.

“The horse got loose in the barn area, unfortunately ran through the stable gate, and actually ran over a person who was trying to catch him as he was leaving the barn area,” Borden said. “And he wound up on [the interstate] going north. So he was thankfully caught, without much ado or injury to himself or any humans, about six, seven miles up the road.”

Videos posted on social media by motorists, plus police body camera footage, showed the horse-whose identity was not revealed in news reports or by the KHRC-running up the interstate in the dark.

WCPO-TV out of nearby Cincinnati, Ohio, had reported drivers “dutifully turned on their hazard lights and slowed down” and that police from the city of Erlanger “tried to help by boxing in the horse with their cruisers.”

State police shut down the highway around 10:15 p.m., according to published news reports.

“At one point, the horse ran full gallop southbound in the northbound lanes into the rear of [a] police cruiser, causing damage to his trunk,” stated a police incident report quoted by WCPO. The TV station further reported that the horse fell down after striking the car, “only to get back up and continue making a break for it.”

Police body camera footage with a time stamp of 10:22 p.m. showed the horse standing calmly while shanked in the hands of a caretaker who was trying to soothe him on the side of the interstate.

“We were talking to Florence police, and we alerted them that the horse was loose,” Borden said. “I called one of our outriders and said, 'Hook your trailer up and get out there,' and he did. He was the one who actually brought the horse back. We got very lucky that no person or horse was injured.”

One officer could be heard saying on the police footage, “This is nuts, man. That's a first. Definitely a first.”

Actually, it wasn't.

On Mar. 2, 2013, a first-time starter named Joseph the Catfish ducked out, unseated his rider, and leapt Turfway's outer rail. He ran down Houston Road through a retail district before being captured in an attempt to run south onto the same highway.

Chip Bach, Turfway's general manager, told commissioners at the Feb. 27 meeting that the track's stable gate had been damaged in an unrelated incident prior to the horse escape.

The rebuilt version, Bach said, will include a safety arm with flashing LED lights that can be lowered at the press of a button if a security staffer hears the “loose horse” siren going off on in the stable area.

“The plan is to work on it as soon as we get past this meet,” Bach said.

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Turfway MSW Purses Projected to Hold Steady at $70,000

Turfway Park purses for maiden special weight (MSW) races are projected to stay level at $70,000, the same as last season. The dovetailed 2023-24 meets that run through March will open Nov. 29.

Chip Bach, Turfway's general manager, reported that projection during the Oct. 3 Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund (KTDF) advisory board meeting.

The overall purse structure, Bach said, will also be “similar” to the previous meet “even though we're adding days and races.”

Bach said Turfway plans on running Wednesdays through Saturdays with a 5:55 p.m. Eastern first post, with the GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks S. program a traditional afternoon racing exception.

Exact 2024 racing dates have yet to be awarded by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, but Turfway's corporate parent, Churchill Downs, Inc., lists Mar. 23 as the date of the 2024 edition of the Jeff Ruby on its “Road to the GI Kentucky Derby” points races calendar.

In the recent past, Turfway has experimented with various under-the-lights first post times, and also tried running during some afternoons on Saturdays. This year management wants to establish a more consistent niche, timing-wise.

“We confuse the handicappers if we're all over the place,” Bach said. “We found once we start building a consistent pattern for them, it's better for us,” he noted, citing Turfway's 5:55 p.m. slot as being more profitable.

“We believe we have enough not only in purse money, but horse population to keep us running four days a week,” Bach said.

“We are planning on running nine races a day in December and January,” Bach said, adding that track management will evaluate that number mid-season to see if carding nine races nightly is still sustainable heading into February.

This season will be Turfway's second with its entirely rebuilt racing facility.

Prior to upping MSW purses to $70,000 last season, Turfway paid out $62,000 in MSW purses in 2021-22. The dual meets that season were conducted with temporary trackside amenities as the multi-year grandstand rebuild was nearing completion.

In 2020-21, Turfway paid just $32,000 for MSW races, when the dual meets were heavily compromised by both the COVID-19 pandemic and the initial phases of the grandstand construction that kept the northern Kentucky oval closed to on-track spectators.

During the 2019-20 season, Turfway paid MSW purses in the $46,000-48,000 range.

The KTDF advisory committee approved the requested recommendation of the Turfway allotment that the MSW purse estimates were based on. The full Kentucky Horse Racing Commission still has to vote on final approval of that funding.

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Total Handle Increases at Turfway Meet

All-sources handle on the Turfway Park Winter/Spring Meet, which concluded Saturday, increased 62% from a year ago, while purse money awarded jumped 43%, according to a release from the Kentucky track. More than $145 million was wagered at the meeting, nearly $56 million more than 2022. Connections who raced at Turfway Park were rewarded with more than $19 million in prize money, an increase of more than $5.5 million (including funds from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund). Turfway Park ran nine additional days this year and had an increase of more than 900 starters.

“The racing season at Turfway Park Racing & Gaming was a huge success across the board,” Turfway Park President Michael Taylor said. “Our team at Turfway Park delivered a competitive racing product while welcoming back fans to our newly renovated facility.”

Five-pound apprentice jockey Walter Rodriguez led the standings with 48 victories from 250 starts. Rodriguez's outstanding meet was highlighted by stakes wins in the Dust Commander S. and the Wishing Well S.

Wesley Ward topped the trainer's standings with 22 wins and tied for leading owner with six wins. Kirk Wycoff's Three Diamonds Farm also tabbed six victories at the stand. Roy Jackson's Lael Stables broke the tie for the champion owner with the highest earnings of $341,365.

“We're so thankful for all of our owners, trainers, jockeys and horseplayers for their continued support of our racing season,” Turfway Park General Manager Chip Bach said. “Thanks to Churchill Downs Incorporated's continued investments in Turfway Park's facility and racing product, we can confidently look forward to a thriving future of horse racing in Florence.”

Horses will remain stabled at Turfway Park throughout the spring and summer. Racing is set to resume Nov. 29.

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