kentucky downs | Horse Racing Free Tips

KHRC Approves Transparency Regs

With zero debate or discussion preceding unanimous votes on two separate agenda items, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) on Tuesday adopted rewritten rules aimed at increasing transparency.

The major changes include lifting prohibitions on the public disclosure of alleged violations, new guidelines that establish a 60-day time frame for holding hearings, and the opening of those hearings to anyone who wants to observe them.

Tweaks to the equine drug-testing process are also in the pipeline. They include a requirement for owners and trainers to select an approved lab for split-sample testing within five days of being provided with the list of accredited facilities, and for the KHRC to send off the sample within seven days instead of “as expeditiously as possible.”

The KHRC on Apr. 26 approved the set of proposed changes that had been hammered out and unanimously recommended during a meeting of its rules committee one week earlier.

Rules changes at the commission level in Kentucky typically take about seven months to implement because the measures have to go through the state's separate administrative certification process.

The post KHRC Approves Transparency Regs appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

MSW Purses Set for CD, Ellis & Ky Downs

Purse levels for maiden special weight (MSW) races on the Kentucky circuit have been established for the upcoming meets at Churchill Downs ($120,000 in the first condition book), Ellis Park ($50,000 through July and August) and Kentucky Downs ($150,000 for seven days in September).

Those figures were revealed by representatives of those tracks Tuesday during a video meeting of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund (KTDF) advisory committee.

Ben Huffman, the vice president of racing and racing secretary at Churchill Downs, also confirmed that the newly installed turf course in Louisville is ready for racing.

“We're still on target for opening the turf course opening night [Apr. 30],” Huffman said. “The turf course is looking good. We certainly want it to warm up here a little quicker. We've had our consultants out there all winter. They were out there about a week, 10 days ago, and everything so far looks great. The root system's great. So we're on schedule as of right now.”

The $120,000 figure for Churchill's first-book MSW races through May 15 is an uptick over 2021's MSW purses, which were $115,000 during Derby week, then $100,000 for the balance of the spring/summer meet.

The $50,000 Ellis projection is a slight dip from $51,000 last year.

Kentucky Downs is adding one race date this season, up from six in 2021. MSW purses for the all-turf meet have risen from $90,000 in 2020 and $135,000 last year.

When Ted Nicholson, the senior vice president and general manager at Kentucky Downs, disclosed the $150,000 figure for this year's meet, Bill Landes III, the chairman of the KTDF, reacted with mock astonishment at such a high figure by asking if that figure was actually in United States dollars.

“Do you have a grass horse?” Nicholson deadpanned in response.

When Kentucky racing shifts back to Turfway Park next December, horsemen can expect not only the completion of the racino's new clubhouse/grandstand (scheduled to open to the public Sept. 1), but five new barns, a new two-story dormitory, and a new post-race testing barn in the stable area.

Chip Bach, Turfway's general manager, said the new dormitory will be “very similar to what they have at Churchill Downs” and it will be “a thousand percent better for our horsemen who live on the grounds…. Our goal is to have them ready before we open the barn area in November.”

Quipped Landes: “From what I hear, you'll have no problems filling them next year.”

An Ellis Park turf widening project has been stalled by wet weather, but surveying is set to begin once the infield dries out, an Ellis representative told the KTDF.

The post MSW Purses Set for CD, Ellis & Ky Downs appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Keeneland, Kentucky Downs Break Ground On Cumberland Run Harness Track

Bringing horse racing back to Eastern Kentucky took another step forward today with the groundbreaking for Cumberland Run harness track.

Cumberland Run and Cumberland Mint, a satellite historical horse racing venue in nearby Williamsburg, are a joint venture between Ron Winchell and Marc Falcone's ECL Racing Management and Keeneland Association. Winchell and Falcone are the majority owners and managing partners in Kentucky Downs and The Mint Gaming Hall in Franklin in south-central Kentucky between Bowling Green and Nashville.

Projections call for construction to be done in time for Cumberland Run to conduct its Oct. 16-Nov. 8 meet on the Corbin property at 75 Buchanan Blvd. off the Corbin Bypass. Combined investment in both enterprises will be about $80 million with more than 200 year-round jobs expected to be created.

“Cumberland Run and Cumberland Mint represent an $80 million investment in Kentucky's tourism and horseracing industries and serve as another example of how the economic momentum that we are experiencing is reaching every community in the Commonwealth,” said Gov. Andy Beshear. “These exciting new attractions will create good paying jobs for Kentuckians and attract new travel markets to Southeastern Kentucky.”

Gov. Beshear was joined by Senate President Robert Stivers, Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer and Rep. Tom O'Dell Smith for the ceremony signifying the start of construction that will provide the Commonwealth with a third Standardbred track.

“Harness racing has a long, storied history in Kentucky: Think Dan Patch, Greyhound and Niatross at Red Mile,” said Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, whose district includes Corbin. “After being on the ropes, there has been a substantial rebound in the Standardbred industry. We added historical horse racing, a natural addition and attractive tourism draw to the Commonwealth, and Cumberland Run will be an important cog in getting a harness circuit back in Kentucky to revitalize the region.”

Cumberland Run will be the first horse track in Eastern Kentucky since Thunder Ridge, also a harness track, in Prestonsburg closed in 2017.

“Cumberland Run would not have become a reality without the leadership of our state and local officials,” Falcone said. “Our sincerest thanks to Gov. Beshear, President Stivers, Leader Thayer and Rep. Tom Smith for their strong support of this project and racing throughout the Commonwealth. We also are grateful for the guidance of Corbin Mayor Suzy Razmus, Knox County Judge-Executive Mike Mitchell and Economic Director Bruce Carpenter, without whom this project would not be possible.”

Last year, the Corbin dates were held at Red Mile harness track in Lexington with the meet funded by the new track's owners. Winchell said then that they wanted to show their commitment to harness racing and didn't want to sit out the year while the facility was being built. Now it's important for the 2022 meet to be in Corbin, he said.

“We want to bring these jobs and out-of-state tourism dollars to Corbin, Williamsburg and Southeastern Kentucky as soon as possible,” Winchell said. “We want Cumberland Run and Cumberland Mint to be economic engines for the tourism industry in Whitley, Knox and Laurel counties. While the region is well-known for its spectacular natural beauty, we think we'll fill an underserved need for additional year-round entertainment options during the day and into the night.”

Keeneland has worked to bring horse racing to Corbin for a decade, teaming with Winchell and Falcone in the project in September 2020.

“Keeneland is proud to work with Corbin and our friends at Kentucky Downs on the continued growth of racing in Kentucky,” Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin said. “We are especially appreciative of the support shown by the local community. Cumberland Run, which has been several years in the making, will strengthen the horse industry, generate millions in tourism dollars for the region and create a destination that makes us all proud.”

Construction already has begun on the Williamsburg project, set to open in July.

“It's exciting times for the 86th district and Southern Kentucky,” said Rep. Tom O'Dell Smith, who represents Knox County. “I want to thank the Governor for his leadership in the Thoroughbred industry and look forward to the investment from Keeneland and Kentucky Downs of millions of dollars into our local area. Also, I want to thank Speaker David Osborne for sponsorship of the legislation and Senator Stivers' leadership that made this possible.”

Cumberland Run will feature a five-eighths mile limestone track, similar to that at Oak Grove Racing near Hopkinsville but with a longer stretch. There will be 150 historical horse racing terminals at Cumberland Run when that facility is completed, including a restaurant, targeted for January 2023. The Cumberland Mint is scheduled to have 450 historical horse racing machines.

The post Keeneland, Kentucky Downs Break Ground On Cumberland Run Harness Track appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Handicapping Heavyweight: Kenny Mollicone To Receive First King Of The Turf Championship Belt

Kenny Mollicone established himself as the National Turf Handicapping Champion by winning the King of the Turf Handicapping Challenge last September during the FanDuel Meet at Kentucky Downs. Now he'll have the belt to prove it.

Mollicone, a 47-year-old real-estate developer from Somerset, Mass., will be presented the Global Tote King of the Turf Championship Belt during Sunday's awards dinner that wraps up the National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) at Bally's Las Vegas. The Global Tote belt was designed to mimic boxing's iconic world championship belts.

“I love it!” Mollicone enthused recently when texted a photo of the Global Tote Championship Belt. “Never had a trophy quite like that. Never had a championship belt. I'm going to put it right in my office. Put it right in a case.”

Asked if he's been getting the proper respect for being King of the Turf, he said with a laugh, “Believe it or not, I've had more than a few people who bet horses stop me and go, 'Hey, King of the Turf!' It's pretty funny.”

Mollicone won the six-day competition based on Kentucky Downs' races with an aggregate bankroll total of $5,783.90 after playing in all three of the individual two-day, live-money contests. That gave him a comfortable $1,163.90 advantage over runner-up Christy Moore of Fishers, Ind. Mollicone also earned $20,000 as the overall winner.

“Like Kentucky Downs, the King of the Turf Handicapping Challenge is one-of-a-kind in American racing,” said Dallas Baker, Head of International Operations for Global Tote's parent company, BetMakers Technology Group. “We wanted our King of the Turf to get a champion's trophy as unique as the tournament format and its venue. It's especially appropriate to use boxing's fabled world-championship belts as our inspiration for an event in Kentucky, which of course gave us Muhammad Ali.”

Eleven competitors earned Kentucky Downs-sponsored berths for the NHC, which runs Jan. 28-30. Moore, who already had earned the maximum two NHC qualifying seats, instead received an entry for the Breeders' Cup Betting Challenge, in which she finished fourth out of 522 entries.

“It's taken just two years for the Kentucky Downs King of the Turf Handicapping Challenge to become one of the most coveted prizes in the world of handicapping contests,” said Brian Skirka, Monmouth Park's marketing manager who has served as the Kentucky Downs' King of the Turf tournament director the past two years. “Andy Muhlada was a great inaugural champion in 2020, and 2021 champ Ken Mollicone – with the introduction of the new Global Tote King of the Turf Championship Belt – will literally carry his title into 2022.

“An unmatched layout and quality of turf racing gives Kentucky Downs such amazing content that serves as the ultimate ingredient with which to concoct a world-class contest series. I'm excited to work with the team to create this year's contest series.”

While the King of the Turf Handicapping Challenge features live money, with players keeping their final bankroll in addition to any prize money, the NHC's format utilizes mythical $2 win and place wagers on a single horse in mandatory and optional races. Competitors must play 18 races each of the first two days, after which the top 10 percent of entries based on mythical bankroll qualify for the third day's semifinals, where players pick their 10 races to play. The subsequent top 10 players advance to the Final Table, featuring seven mandatory races.

Mollicone finished 194th in last year's NHC out of 563 entries, his first time qualifying for the world's most prestigious handicapping competition.

“I had a horse that was 16-1 in the last race at Saratoga and got disqualified,” he said of the COVID-delayed 2021 NHC. “If he hadn't been taken down, I'd have been in the semifinals. I'm still sick about it. Watch the replay.”

Also qualifying for the NHC through Kentucky Downs, with hometowns are Marikate Carter (Saratoga Springs, NY), George Chute (Dedham, MA), Erin Doty-McQuaid (Nicholasville, KY), Gary Gristick (Lebanon, PA), Lawrence Kahlden (St. Petersburg, FL), Chris Larmey (Kennewick, WA), Nick Noce (Rochester, NY), Joseph Regan (Marlboro, MA), David Rink (Bannockburn, IL) and Gary Wright (Staten Island, NY). In addition to Moore, Ed Deicke (Lido Beach, NY) earned a Breeders' Cup Betting Challenge berth at Kentucky Downs after being double-qualified for the NHC.

With Kentucky Downs picking up a seventh racing day for 2022, the format for the King of the Turf Handicapping Challenge has not yet been set. Kentucky Downs will race Sept. 1, 3, 4, 8, 10, 11 and 14. Mollicone says he's participating however it's structured.

“One hundred percent,” he said. “I've got to defend myself. Have to go for another belt.”

The post Handicapping Heavyweight: Kenny Mollicone To Receive First King Of The Turf Championship Belt appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post