FanDuel Meet at Kentucky Downs | Horse Racing Free Tips

Record $80M Bet on ’22 Kentucky Downs Meet

The FanDuel Meet at Kentucky Downs concluded Wednesday with record wagering topping $80 million for the seven-day run. Purses again set a record, reaching almost $18 million paid out to horse owners.

With $12,896,355 bet on Wednesday's closing card, total wagering on the meet reached $80,175,928, clipping Kentucky Downs' previous record of $74,088,532 over six days last year for an increase of 8 percent. A record $21,065,982 was bet on Saturday Sept. 10. The average field size was 10.61 horses, the highest since 2019.

The record wagering comes in spite of adverse weather on both weekends during the meet that began Thursday Sept. 1. The last four races on Saturday Sept. 3 had to be rescheduled. Both Sundays were significantly impacted, with the entire Sept. 4 card transferred to Monday Sept. 5 and the last nine of 11 races carded for Sept. 11 moved to Tuesday, Sept. 13.

“It was a fantastic meet, with world-class racing despite the challenges,” said Ted Nicholson, Kentucky Downs' Vice President for Racing. “Every weekend we ran, we were meteorologists. Losing both Sundays and having to shift one card to a Tuesday is not ideal. It was a testament to track superintendent Butch Lehr and the track crew how well the course held together. For us, along with our horsemen and horseplayers, to persevere and get to $80 million is huge.”

Participation was broad-based: An even 100 trainers ran at least one horse, with Mike Maker leading the way with 66 starts – more than double No. 2 Steve Asmussen's 32. Ninety-eight unique owners or ownership groups participated, highlighted by Three Diamonds Farms' 21 starters. Sixty-two jockeys rode at least one race, led by meet-leader Tyler Gaffalione (nine wins) riding 66 of 73 races.

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Kentucky Downs Closes with Record Handle; Rosario Dominates Rider Standings

The FanDuel Meet at Kentucky Downs wrapped up Sunday with a nearly 24% rise in handle from the same period last year. A total of $74,088,532 was wagered via all-sources handle, up $14,260,088 (or 23.8%) from last year's total of $59,828,444, which was also a record at the time. Sunday's card of 10 races saw a handle of $13,899,277, third-highest at the all-turf track. Saturday's wagering of $20,849,967 on 11 races set a new mark for one day of racing at Kentucky Downs.

The big story of the six-day meet was jockey Joel Rosario's dominance over his fellow riders. He ran away with the leading jockey title, winning five races on the first day's 11-race card (Sept. 5). He won another five on Sept. 6, added just one on Sept. 8, two on Sept. 9, and none on Sept. 11, but finished strong with four on closing day. That gave him 17 wins, good for an astounding 26.5% of all the races at the meet.

Steve Asmussen, Brendan Walsh, and Michael Maker finished in a three-way tie for leading trainer, while Godolphin Stables captured the leading owner title.

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Kentucky Downs Turf Pick of the Day for Sept. 12

Steve Sherack and Brian DiDonato give their best bet for each day of racing during the FanDuel Meet at Kentucky Downs. $100 Win/Place format; highest bankroll at the end wins.

Steve Sherack: Saturday's Results – Bombard set the pace as expected and just got nipped on the wire for second to finish third. Bankroll: $550.

Race 7 – In a race absolutely loaded with speed, Lady Danae is the clear cut one to beat, bad post and all, off an ultra-impressive, come-from-behind debut win at Saratoga over a razor-sharp, next-out winner. With all that being said, I'm going to take a swing on Cavalier Cupid at a nice price. She's drawn well on the inside, is handy enough to sit within striking distance, and really flew home impressively (:11.71 and :11.44) in her last two wins going five furlongs at Colonial. The added distance is the big question here, but her likely double-digit odds will make it worth finding out. Selection: #5 Cavalier Cupid (15-1).

Brian DiDonato: Saturday's Results – Annex could only manage eighth from the back of the pack. One last chance to catch Sherack. Bankroll: $0.

Race 8 – I know I've been taking a lot of cutbacks, but I do think they have a bit of an advantage here. Toby's Heart looked like a potential monster at two, and she did win a stake this April, but has gone winless in her last three. She was a close fifth in the GIII Soaring Softly S. over a one-turn seven furlongs at Belmont that probably plays somewhat like this configuration, but the chart comments don't really accurately reflect that trip–she was left with too much to do and found traffic trouble that slowed her momentum. She split re-opposing Navratilova and New Boss two back going a mile, but those two were up on a slow pace and she came from way out of it. The 'TDN Rising Star' stuck to the mile last time in Saratoga's GIII Lake George S., and was a decent third against what was probably a tougher bunch. Winner Technical Analysis came back to take the GII Lake Placid in pretty dominant fashion. Now Toby's Heart gets a rider upgrade to scorching hot Joel Rosario, who has the perfect style for a horse like this. Selection: #6 Toby's Heart (3-1).

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Unique Trophies for Unique Meet

FRANKLIN, Ky.–Winners of the bulk of the races at the FanDuel Meet at Kentucky Downs–from maidens to graded stakes–receive a big chunk of purse money and a distinctive keepsake of their success at the track that is unlike any other in North America.

While it may be hard to put an autographed Fender acoustic guitar on a mantel, it sure is a conversation piece.

Allie Sclafani, the marketing director for live racing, spent eight months developing the project that features guitars for the six-day, $15-million meet contested over eight days close to the border with Tennessee.

“Kentucky Downs, year over year, has been experiencing growth,” Scalfani said. “Our co-owner, Ron Winchell–as a horse owner–wins a lot of trophies, so we didn't want to just offer folks the same Waterford bowl and decanter that we usually do.”

A total of seven guitars signed by Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Reba McEntire will be presented after the six graded stakes and the Music City S., which honors nearby Nashville, Tenn.

“The guitar came about last year for the Music City S., its namesake,” Sclafani said. “It was signed by George Strait and it was such a hit, similar to how Santa Anita used to present surfboards. For this year we decided if unique trophies are what the horse owners want, let's do a different trophy type for every type of races.”

For its non-graded races, Kentucky Downs presents hand-painted, customized decanters and glasses. Each one is personalized to include the winner's silks and a likeness of the winning horse.

Allowance race winners receive customized Bourbon barrel heads.

“One of the main goals this year was to embrace Kentucky Downs's location on the Tennessee line as the beginnings of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail,” Sclafani said. “That's one of the reasons why we have custom Bourbon bottles every day that are etched. We mirror that with our allowance races. They are mixed media. They've got metal and they will also be hand painted with their silks and shipped to the winning owners.”

Maiden winners go home with a piece of apparel, a cooler that is a walking advertising vehicle for Kentucky's famous equine industry.

“Since breaking your maiden in $135,000 races at Kentucky Downs is exciting, we wanted to honor that and make sure that the KTDF [Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund] gets a little love because we couldn't do it without them,” Sclafani said. “Those are titanium coolers from Fenwick. They are designed to improve circulation and help horses cool down after a race. They say, 'It Pays to Be a Kentucky-bred' and has the Kentucky Downs and FanDuel mark for 2021.”

Sclafani said that Kentucky Downs management was intent on putting together a clever and memorable marketing approach.

“For a race meet of only six days we want to generate as much buzz as we can,” she said. “We think that doing right by the horsemen is going to get our message out.”

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