kentucky downs | Horse Racing Free Tips

Simulcast Impasse Means No Kentucky Downs Wagering For NYRA And NYRA Bets Customers

Kentucky Downs has reached an agreement with all the major simulcast outlets and account-wagering platforms to take bets on the six-date all-turf meet except the New York Racing Association and its affiliated online-arm NYRA Bets as well as some of the tracks and outlets they represent in the simulcasting market.

Kentucky Downs, located in Franklin, Ky., opens this Sunday and continues through Labor Day Monday and Sept. 8, 9, 11 and 12.

The lack of a signed contract means that horseplayers at NYRA's three tracks as well as NYRA Bets account-holders will not be able to place wagers on Kentucky Downs. (New York state's regional OTB networks are not impacted.)

Kentucky Downs is the host track for inter-track and whole-card wagering in Kentucky during its live race meet. As a result of the impasse, horseplayers betting on-site at any of the Kentucky tracks likewise will not be able to wager on the last two days of Saratoga's meet, Sunday and Monday. Online betting platforms such as TVG, TwinSpires and Xpressbet are not affected.

“We are disappointed and saddened by NYRA's decision but also understand and accept it,” said Ted Nicholson, Kentucky Downs' Vice President for Racing. “We want to let horseplayers know in advance so they aren't caught off-guard. We are confident that New York horseplayers will find alternative ways to wager on Kentucky Downs and look forward to resolving this issue at some point with NYRA.”

The post Simulcast Impasse Means No Kentucky Downs Wagering For NYRA And NYRA Bets Customers appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Jack Sisterson Has Become A Kentucky Downs Regular With Calumet

Calumet Farm's trainer Jack Sisterson is looking forward to the distinctive all-turf FanDuel Meet at Kentucky Downs, which opens this Sunday.

The six-day season continues on Labor Day Monday, Sept. 8, 9, 11 and 12. First post is 12:20 p.m. Central.

Since he was hired as Calumet's private trainer in May 2018, Sisterson has increased his involvement at Kentucky Downs. He had two starters that first year, seven in 2019 and 10 last year. As this meet approached, Sisterson said Calumet would be well-represented in stakes – including G1 Man o' War winner Channel Cat in the $1 million, Grade 2 Calumet Turf Cup – and overnight races. He has four horses entered for the opening-day 11-race program and another two in Monday. That includes In Effect in Sunday's $750,000 Big Ass Fans Dueling Grounds Derby.

Sisterson, who is still looking for his first win at the track, said that Kentucky Downs is a refreshing change of pace from typical American racing and fits the Calumet program. As an aside, Calumet Farm owner Brad Kelley, who grew up in Simpson County, also owned Kentucky Downs in partnership and then outright from 1997-2007. Among Calumet Farm's stallions is 2007 male turf champion English Channel.

“Well, it's obviously intriguing because we have a lot of horses that are bred to run on the grass,” Sisterson said. “We have a lot of English Channels because he stands at Calumet and they really seem to take to that configuration. It is quite refreshing to go down there for a week of racing, just because it is different. It's not the flat oval track. You've got the mile and five-sixteenth, 6 1/2. It's just a great, fun week.”

However, Sisterson said that the undulating kidney-shaped course can be a bit of an adventure for horsemen.

“You've no idea what horse is going to take to it,” he said. “Which horse won't. Which horse will. Full fields. Just a lot of excitement going on down there.”

Sisterson had Channel Cat with him at Saratoga all summer. After Channel Cat finished fourth in the G2 Bowling Green on July 31, Sisterson opted to skip Saratoga's G1 Sword Dancer on Aug. 28 and wait for the race sponsored by Calumet. He thought that the Calumet Turf Cup was a better fit for the speedy horse. Plus there was no need to guess whether the 6-year-old son of English Channel can handle Kentucky Downs: he won the 2018 Dueling Grounds Derby while being trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher.

Trainer Kenny McPeek will go after his third victory in the $500,000 Exacta Systems Dueling Grounds Oaks Sunday with Susan Moulton's Oliviaofthedesert. The Bernardini filly was fourth in Ellis Park's Kentucky Downs TVG Preview Dueling Grounds Oaks on Aug. 7 at Ellis Park. Last year at Kentucky Downs, Oliviaofthedesert finished third in the $500,000 Mint Juvenile Fillies.

McPeek, a stalwart at the track, ranks fourth in career wins with 26 from 153 starts. He said he expects to have at least 20 starters during the meet.

Four-time Eclipse Award winning trainer Chad Brown, perennially the champion turf trainer in America, was the leading money winner at last year's meet with $980,375. A good chunk of that came from Juddmonte Farms' Flavius winning the $750,000 Tourist Mile, which this year was elevated to Grade 3 status, received a purse hike to $1 million and was renamed the WinStar Mint Million.

Flavius will seek to become the first two-time winner of the stakes, drawing post 11 in the field of 11 for Monday's race. In his most recent start, Flavius won the restricted Lure Stakes on Aug. 7 at Saratoga.

Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey has plenty of experience at Kentucky Downs. He has five wins from 13 career starts. He started running more at the track a few year ago on the advice of his son Reeve, then an assistant and now with his own stable. Reeve McGaughey encouraged his dad to re-establish more of a presence in their native Kentucky. The elder McGaughey was a mainstay in Kentucky until relocating to New York in the mid-1980s.

McGaughey entered Joseph Allen's homebred 3-year-old filly Flying Fortress in Sunday's seventh race, a $145,000 first-level allowance. Flying Fortress, a daughter of Uncle Mo out of Dakota Queen by War Front, broke her maiden first-out on Aug. 4 at Colonial Downs. She is a full sister to Allen's Enola Gay, who broken her maiden at Kentucky Downs in 2019 and won the G2 Appalachian during Keeneland's 2020 summer meet. (Enola Gay also won an allowance race Tuesday at Colonial Downs.)

McGaughey said the timing of the Kentucky Downs meet is ideal for New York-based horsemen who face a gap between the end of the Saratoga season and the start of the Belmont fall meet on Sept. 16.

“I think it's a good alternative,” he said. “We leave here on Labor Day and don't run again until the following Thursday. It fits right in there, so why not take advantage of it and take advantage of the purses?”

The post Jack Sisterson Has Become A Kentucky Downs Regular With Calumet appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Ron Winchell Talks Ky Downs, Gun Runner on Writer’s Room

One of the great success stories in American racing over the last decade or so has been the emergence of Kentucky Downs, which opens its 2021 six-day meet on Sunday. Much of that has to do with the stewardship on Ron Winchell, who, along with partner Marc Falcone, purchased the track in 2019.

Thanks in large part to Historical Horse Racing machines, Kentucky Downs was already making plenty of money when Winchell and Falcone took over, but they never grew complacent. Rather, they have continually looked to make Kentucky Downs an even greater success. Part of that has included an expansion of the gaming, entertainment and dining areas, but it has also meant growing the race meet.

During his interview on the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland, Winchell explained why his team has never stopped trying to grow the race meet, which now includes 16 stakes worth $10 million and three $1 million races. With many tracks affiliated with gaming, racing is an afterthought.

“Obviously, I am heavily involved in horse racing,” said Winchell, the Green Group Guest of the Week. “You don't have an ownership here that is segregated from horse racing, which sometimes happens, especially in other states. Our meet is so unique, with six days and the purse levels, with 16 stakes races and three $1 million races. Really, it has turned into this cool, boutique meet, which is fun and we do well. We don't lose money, where with many locations it's not the same and they lose money and they don't have that tie to horse racing. They really try to make the racing as minimal as they can. We're the opposite. We are willing to spend money every year to grow this into something bigger and better all the time. That's the focus we have when it comes to racing.”

A short meet clearly works for Kentucky Downs, but Winchell said he'd like to see it grow to beyond six days. He said Kentucky Downs will apply for seven racing dates in 2022 and added that management is also interested in possibly running some days in May in the future.

“At some point, we might want to do a few days in May,” he said. “We'd like to do something that would, hopefully, attract some European horses. So, there is some potential to grow more going forward. But we don't want too many days. The short boutique-style meet is what makes it special. It's never just another day at Kentucky Downs.”

Winchell is also a prominent horse owner and he and his family have campaigned a number of stars, including super sire Tapit (Pulpit) and Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg}), who has gotten off to a fast start at stud.

“The Gun Runners are capable of winning races at six furlongs or shorter, and that's what we are seeing,” Winchell said. “But I think they all really want to go longer. We've shown everybody that these guys can really run, but I can't be more excited to see what the next phase will bring. He's going to have runners in the Hopeful, the Spinaway, the Sapling and I believe there are two that are going to run in the Del Mar Futurity. This weekend will be a pretty defining moment for him, to see if he can take the next step. I'm pretty excited. Gun Runner is my favorite subject right now.”

Elsewhere on the show, which is also sponsored by West Point Thoroughbreds, Spendthrift Farm, Legacy Bloodstock, the writers reviewed the GI Runhappy Travers day card at Saratoga, generally giving glowing reviews to a day of racing that was among the best offered anywhere and at any time this year.

Click here to watch the podcast; click here for the audio-only version or find it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

The post Ron Winchell Talks Ky Downs, Gun Runner on Writer’s Room appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

‘A Fascinating Exercise For The Handicapper’: Kentucky Downs’ Average Win Payoff $16.73 In 2020

When it comes to Kentucky Downs making its case as the best betting product in America, the proof is in the payoffs.

Last year's average return for a $1 exacta at Kentucky Downs was $65.32, $75.99 for the $1 double, $269.20 for the 50-cent trifecta, $374.06 for the 50-cent Pick 3 and $23,076 for the 50-cent Pick 5. Even the $2 win payoff average was a healthy $16.73.

The all-grass FanDuel Meet at Kentucky Downs runs this Sunday, Labor Day Monday and Sept. 6, 8, 9, 11 and 12. First post is 12:20 p.m. Central.

“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,” said Ken Kirchner, Kentucky Downs' Director of Wagering Development: “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.'”

Kentucky Downs offers full fields and large betting pools — the formula for big payouts. Last year Kentucky Downs averaged a $3,295 payoff for its 50-cent Pick Four, with the betting pool averaging $357,778, according to an Equibase analysis. With the Pick 4 one of racing's most popular bets, Kentucky Downs has added a third daily Pick 4 to its betting menu for 2021.

Kirchner said there “is not another meet in the country that matches up with Kentucky Downs” as far as betting value. Kirchner is an internationally recognized expert on simulcasting and wagering who, as a senior vice president for both industry organizations, was instrumental in creation of the Breeders' Cup Betting Challenge (BCBC) for the Breeders' Cup and the National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) for the National Thoroughbred Racing Association.

“I would almost equate this one-week meet at Kentucky Downs to Royal Ascot, where it is so unique in terms of the racing surface, the mix of horses and horsemen, the top jockeys all coming in from around the country,” Kirchner said. “This has that Royal Ascot meets county fair-type feel at Kentucky Downs.”

[Story Continues Below]

Kirchner also was involved in expanding Kentucky Downs' 2021 King of the Turf Handicapping Challenge presented by Daily Racing Form into a trio of two-day handicapping contests spanning the entire meet.

Seats at the 2022 NHC will be awarded to the top finishers in all three individual competitions, with seats for the 2021 BCBC also up for grabs in the final two contests. The overall winner who participates in all three contests over the six dates will be crowned National Turf Handicapping Champion and earn additional prize money, along with the National Turf Handicapping Champion Trophy presented by BetMakers.

The separate online tournaments are live-money events, meaning that entrants use a real bankroll and get to keep whatever they might earn. All contest bets must be placed through the TVG, 4NJBets or Xpressbet advance-deposit wagering platforms.

“We're excited about the new tournament format,” Kirchner said. “It's a very unique format. With the betting value and being a live-money contest, players have a chance to turn a small bankroll into a big reward.”

For more information or to sign up, contact tournament director Brian Skirka at bskirka@monmouthpark.com.

Click here for complete rules

The post ‘A Fascinating Exercise For The Handicapper’: Kentucky Downs’ Average Win Payoff $16.73 In 2020 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post