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It’s Official: Art Collector To Use Ellis Park Derby As ‘Steppingstone’ To First Saturday In September

Bruce Lunsford's 3-year-old colt Art Collector, winner of Keeneland's Grade 2 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes in his last start, is coming to the $200,000 Ellis Park Derby on Aug. 9, trainer Tommy Drury told the track this week.

The Ellis Park Derby, with its purse doubled and distance extended from a mile to 1 1/8 miles, this year is part of the official Kentucky Derby Championship Series. The Ellis Park Derby winner receives 50 points toward qualifying for the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby, a number that virtually assures a spot in the 20-horse field at Churchill Downs. The runner-up receives 20 points, with 10 for third and five for fourth.

While COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on the world, the pandemic did deliver the first-ever Kentucky Derby prep to Ellis Park's summer meet because of the delay to America's greatest horse race.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us to even have the race to begin with,” said Jeff Hall, Ellis Park's director of racing operations who has lived in Henderson most of his life and has worked for the track for around 30 years. “To have one of the top horses in the country coming here to run, right now is our time to shine with this. We couldn't be more thrilled.”

Art Collector already has secured a spot in the 1 1/4-mile Kentucky Derby, thanks to earning 100 points with his July 11 Blue Grass victory under regular rider Brian Hernandez Jr.

Since that race, Drury and Lunsford have said that the options were to train the eight weeks up to the Derby or to run at Ellis Park. Shipping to upstate New York for Saratoga's Grade 1 Travers on Aug. 8 was never under consideration for Art Collector, who resumed training last Wednesday at Drury's major base at the Skylight Training Center in Oldham County.

“Bruce kind of left the decision up to me,” Drury said. “I felt we needed to go somewhere, and that was our only option. Before I said too much, I just wanted to make sure my horse came out of the Keeneland race OK and everything was in good order. Now that we're back on the track and seeing him train, gosh, if anything it seems like he's better. The timing of it is going to be good leading up to the Derby. That's the ultimate goal, and we're going to try to take our best shot.”

Drury is using the Ellis Park Derby for conditioning purposes, with hot weather expected to impact how he trains Art Collector in the mornings. The goal is to win the Ellis Park Derby but not to “gut” the horse in the process.

“The good news is that it's not a have-to-win situation,” he said. “If at any point Brian feels like we're not getting the trip or things aren't going the way we need it to go, we don't have to abuse him to win the race. We just want to get the race under our belt. This isn't the long-term goal. This is just a steppingstone to get us there.

“If this was the fall of the year and we were having nice cool days, that puts a whole different spin on it. But being the time of year it is, taking the weather into consideration, I think we're better off to go down and run the race one day. On the day-to-day type stuff, that's going to allow us to keep him in the same routine he's been in thus far.”

Lunsford and Drury are lifelong Louisvillians, while Hernandez has lived in the area since he began riding full-time in 2004. Lunsford also has a lot of close friends in western Kentucky.

“Bruce is thrilled,” Drury said of running in the Ellis Park Derby. “He's a Kentucky guy and he wants to support Kentucky racing. He thought it was a great idea. Ellis Park has gone above and beyond to help the horsemen and to have their meet. Hopefully having a horse like Art Collector in their big race helps them a little bit. Hopefully it's good for all of us.

“The ultimate goal is to run this horse the first Saturday in September, and this is a perfect steppingstone to get us there. The fact that we're able to do it without leaving the state, that's icing on the cake. Shipping around this time of year, it's a little harder on horses. It's hot, the humidity is up. It takes a little more out of them. To be able to zip right down the road, run your horse and have him sleep in his own stall that night, that plays as big a part in it as anything.”

Said Lunsford: “You could try to train him up to the Kentucky Derby. That's a long eight weeks. You don't want to start working horses quick; you might as well just have a race. We've got four weeks to get ready. There are a lot of things I love about Ellis anyway, and it gives me a chance to give back. They've always been good to me. Every time I've been in politics, I've won every time in Henderson. I know a lot of people down there. And I think Brian and Tommy are excited about doing this.

“You know what? My goal is, if this horse is as good I hope he is, that we can kind of call this Louisville's hope, all Louisville guys,” he said, jokingly adding, “It's like a basketball game — I'd ask for a 'white out' for all the people for us. It could be fun.”

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‘We’ll Let The Horse Take Us Along’: Art Collector Could Use Ellis Park Derby As Springboard To Roses

If Keeneland's Toyota Blue Grass Stakes winner Art Collector races again before the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby, it will be in the $200,000 Ellis Park Derby on Aug. 9 at Ellis Park.

Trainer Tom Drury said that Bruce Lunsford's Art Collector could run in the 1 1/8-mile Ellis Park Derby as a tightener if a streak hot weather would make him ease up in the colt's training. Art Collector secured a spot in the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby after picking up 100,000 qualifying points for winning last Saturday's Grade 2, $600,000 Blue Grass by 3 1/2 lengths over the filly Swiss Skydiver. Ellis Park regular Brian Hernandez Jr. is Art Collector's jockey.

“No. 1, I'm just sure thankful that race is there,” Drury said of the Ellis Park Derby. “Ellis, I know they had to work hard to have their meet this year. To keep a race like that really helps us, keeps us from having to travel if we decide to go there. If I knew it was going to be 65 degrees every morning and I could train him exactly the way I wanted, I would probably say we're just going to train up to the Derby.

“But the first part of August, it could be crazy kind of weather. If that's the case, do you really want to be cranking on your horse (on a daily basis)? So I'm glad to know that race is there. I've met with Bruce and we've discussed it and decided we'll let the horse take us along; we're not going to take him. If we feel he needs another race, that is the only spot that's even in consideration. If we feel we don't need another race, we'll just train up to the big dance.”

The Ellis Park Derby marks a historic occurrence in track history, with Ellis Park only in position to have a Kentucky Derby prep because of the coronavirus-forced delay of the Churchill Downs classic. The Ellis Park Derby winner will receive 50 qualifying points — which should guarantee a spot in the 20-horse Kentucky Derby — but that's not a consideration for Drury.

“We're in a good spot now,” Drury said. “Before the Blue Grass, it was a little nerve-wracking. Because that was an all-or-nothing deal. Now that we got over that hurdle, it's almost like you can exhale a little bit. Now your whole thought process is on your horse. It's not on getting points to get there, or any of the other things going on around you. It's just focusing on the horse and doing what's right for him. You're not even thinking about the (Ellis Park Derby) purse.

“In all honesty, you don't even have to win that race. If you need that race as a tightener, it's there for you. If you don't, you don't. The good news is that everything seems to be in order at this point. He came out of the Blue Grass in good order and he's a happy horse. And usually that's a big part of being successful, having a horse that's on his game and happy and enjoying what he's doing.”

Another prominent horse under consideration for the Ellis Park Derby is Godolphin's Brad Cox-trained Shared Sense, who picked up 20 points toward Kentucky Derby qualifying in winning Indiana Grand's Grade 3, $300,000 Indiana Derby under Florent Geroux last week.

“The Ellis Park Derby is on the discussion table,” Darley America president Jimmy Bell, whose team also oversees Godolphin's American racing operation, said in an email response to an inquiry. “We obviously have some other options that we are considering as well. A little more time and we'll have a better idea as to which direction we're headed.”

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‘Got Him At The Right Time’: Ohio Derby Winner Dean Martini May Target Ellis Park Derby

Dean Martini made his first start at Ellis Park last Aug. 4, finishing second at 24-1. Now, after winning last Saturday's $500,000 Ohio Derby, Louisville-based Raise the BAR Racing's 3-year-old gelding could be coming back to Henderson for the $200,000 RUNHAPPY Ellis Park Derby on Aug. 9.

“It's definitely under consideration,” said trainer Tom Amoss. “Absolutely timing-wise we'll look at the race at Ellis.”

It was Dean Martini's second start for his new owners and Amoss after they claimed him out of a $50,000 maiden-claiming race at Churchill Downs, which made him a winner on his eighth attempt. Yet even in defeat, there was only one race in which Dean Martini did not run well. That was his second start, which came at Del Mar in California.

Dean Martini won by 6 3/4 length the day he was claimed, the only time he was in a claiming race. He returned to finish a good second after breaking from post 12 in an allowance race won by Man in the Can, a strong contender for Keeneland's Grade 2 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes. That encouraged Amoss to go hunting bigger game in the Grade 3 Ohio Derby, whose runner-up was stakes-winner South Bend and whose third-place finisher was 2019 Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner and Eclipse Award champion Storm the Court.

Amoss is a disciple of the Ragozin handicapping sheets, which chart form cycles by taking into account variables such as ground lost, traffic trouble and how fast or slow the track is playing in assigning a number for each horse's race. The lower the number, the faster the performance, regardless of what the official time might be.

“I liked the fact that he was a horse who looked like on the 'sheets' that he was developing,” Amoss said of the claim. “The day we claimed him, he ran a very big race. In the allowance race, he ran just as well…. I just got lucky. I didn't do anything special with this horse. He came in great shape. I think I got him at the right time. I claimed a horse that was in the process of developing, getting better. I did nothing more than pick up where the old barn left off.”

Raise The BAR Racing's name is a shout out to the first letters of the first names of partners Brad Rives, Annie Jessee and Rick Riney — along with the fact that they're all lawyers, and they might also occasionally have gone to a bar. Diane Jessee, Annie's sister in law, also is a partner.

The Ohio Derby victory fell on the 81st birthday of former Kentucky governor Brereton Jones, who with his son Bret bred Dean Martini, bloodhorse.com noted.

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Ellis Park’s Aug. 9 Audubon Oaks Added To Churchill’s Road To The Kentucky Oaks

Ellis Park not only has the $200,000 Ellis Park Derby as a qualifying race for the rescheduled Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby, the track's $100,000 Audubon Oaks is now a stop on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks. Both stakes races are Sunday Aug. 9.

Ellis Park's 98th annual meet will run from July 2 through August 30.

This year's Ellis Park Derby winner will receive 50 points, virtually ensuring a spot in the 20-horse Kentucky Derby under Churchill Downs' tiered system of qualifying races. Also earning points from the 1 1/8-mile race will be the runner-up (20), third place (10) and fourth (5). The seven-furlong Audubon Oaks, back on the Ellis Park stakes schedule after an 11-year hiatus, will offer a total of 17 points (10-4-2-1) for the top four finishers toward making the Sept. 4 Kentucky Oaks' 14-filly field.

“We cannot thank Churchill Downs enough for including the Audubon Oaks as one of its additions to the Kentucky Oaks points races,” said Ellis Park general manager Jeff Inman. “This is a huge and obviously historic opportunity for Ellis Park to have official prep races for the Derby and Oaks. We decided to bring the Audubon Oaks back off the shelf this year and being on the Kentucky Oaks schedule is a great way to welcome it back.

“We assume we will get horses trying to secure a spot in the Derby or Oaks, in addition we think our stakes are also positioned perfectly for horses who already have qualified but could benefit from a tune-up four weeks out. Trainers can stay put in Kentucky from now through the Derby and beyond, with the Breeders' Cup being at Keeneland this year. We're an easy ship from Churchill Downs, Keeneland and the state's training centers. With one of the best racing surfaces in the country, Ellis Park offers a convenient way to get in that final prep without the stress of significant travel.”

The Ellis Park Derby falls four weeks after Keeneland's Toyota Blue Grass and 4 1/2 weeks after Indiana Grand's Indiana Derby. The Audubon Oaks offers similar spacing from Keeneland's Ashland Stakes and Beaumont, as well as the Indiana Oaks.

Ellis Park has a tie to the past two winners of the Kentucky Oaks, with 2019 winner Serengeti Empress taking the 2018 Ellis Park Debutante and 2018 heroine Monomoy Girl training all summer at Ellis before launching her 2-year-old career.

The Ellis Park Derby could be a stepping stone to the Kentucky Derby for Lloyd Madison Farms' Major Fed, whose next start will be either the Blue Grass or the Indiana Derby, said trainer Greg Foley, who added that the Audubon Oaks could be a good fit for his filly Sconsin, a recent Churchill Downs allowance winner at 19-1 odds.

“I think it will be great for Ellis Park,” said the Louisville-based Foley. “Those people down there, they love that racing. It's sure coming in handy for them, the weird year we having. There will be people showing up for those points, and it's a great, safe racetrack. Those will probably come up pretty tough races.”

Brad Cox, a two-time leading trainer at Ellis Park, is among those welcoming the additions. Cox said that Godolphin Racing's Shared Sense, who finished second in a second-level allowance race June 13, and Rupp Racing's recently gelded Shake Some Action could be candidates for the Ellis Park Derby. Flurry Racing Stables' Shedaresthedevil, an impressive Churchill Downs allowance winner on June 5, could be a possibility for the Audubon Oaks, he said.

“It's good money,” Cox said of the Ellis Park Derby. “It's an opportunity they're giving us, and I'm hoping to have something for it.”

Owner Chester Thomas of Madisonville also hopes to participate in the Ellis Park Derby at what he considers his hometown track. One possibility could be the Bret Calhoun-trained Mr. Big News, winner of the April 11 Oaklawn Stakes at 46-1 odds in his last start.

“As someone who has been going to Ellis Park my entire life, I'm unbelievably excited about the track having a Kentucky Derby prep — although I'm hoping these are once-in-a-lifetime circumstances and we never have to deal with a coronavirus again,” said Thomas, a two-time Ellis Park leading owner. “But it's a great opportunity to have Derby contenders coming to Ellis Park, and hopefully we can have something in the Ellis Park Derby starting gate and, even better, in the winner's circle.”

Ellis Park 2020 stakes

July 5 — $50,000 Ellis Park Turf Stakes, fillies & mares 3 years old & up, 1 1/16 miles (turf).
July 26 — $50,000 Good Lord Stakes, 3-year-olds & up, 6 1/2 furlongs.
Aug. 2 (all on turf) — $100,000* Kentucky Downs Preview Ladies Sprint, fillies & mares 3 years old & up, 5 1/2 furlongs; $100,000* Kentucky Downs Preview Turf Cup, 3-year-olds & up, 1 1/4 miles; $100,000* Kentucky Downs Preview Ladies Turf, fillies & mares 3 years old &up, mile); $100,000* Kentucky Downs Preview Turf Sprint, 3-year-olds & up, 5 1/2 furlongs; $100,000* Kentucky Downs Preview Tourist Mile, 3-year-olds & up, mile.
Aug. 9 — $200,000* Ellis Park Derby, 3-year-olds; 1 1/8 miles; $100,000* Audubon Oaks, 3-year-old fillies, 7 furlongs; $100,000* Ellis Park Juvenile, 2-year-olds, 7 furlongs; $100,000* Ellis Park Debutante, 7 furlongs.
*-includes $25,000 from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund

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