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Downs After Dark Returns To Churchill Saturday With ‘Country Saloon’ Theme

Kick up your boots, y'all, and get ready to enjoy a hot country night as the popular Downs After Dark presented by Budweiser returns in earnest to Churchill Downs on Saturday night at 6 p.m. (all times Eastern).

The theme for Saturday night's Downs After Dark is “Country Saloon” as Churchill Downs goes Southwest. Guests are encouraged to dust off the boots and cowboy hats for a western-inspired look.

The spacious 30,000-square-foot Plaza adjacent to the saddling paddock will be the heartbeat of the party. There will be live music on the Plaza Stage throughout the night, including Kyle Eldridge & The Kentucky Cowhands from 5:30-8 p.m. and a mix of new country and pop by Bourbon Straights from 8:30-11:30 p.m. Also, there will be line dancing with professional dancers from Dance Louisville to put guests in a country state of mind.

Guests also will be able to take pictures in front of murals created by local artists inspired by Austin, Texas' iconic street art, and there will be video projections of Western scenes on the facades of Churchill Downs' clubhouse once the sun sets.

BBQ is the featured culinary option, and special Margarita and Paloma cocktails will be served.

Admission gates will open Saturday at 5 p.m. and the first of 11 races will begin at 6 p.m. The final race will be 11:10 p.m. and the on-track party will continue in the Plaza area until 11:30 p.m. The last call for alcohol will be post time for the final race of night.

Saturday's marquee entertainment event is paired with stellar stakes racing action: the $150,000 Winning Colors (Grade 3), a six-furlong sprint for fillies and mares, and the $110,000 Keertana Overnight Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 ½ miles on turf.

According to the National Weather Service, Saturday's forecast calls for mostly sunny skies with a high near 88. The low will be around 64.

General admission to Downs After Dark is $12 and it includes a reserved seat on the first floor and official program. No one under the age of 18 will be admitted to the track unless they are accompanied by a parent or responsible adult. Limited premium dining packages are available starting at $69 per person. Outdoor-third floor box seats are on sale for $27 per person. Reserved seating can be purchased online at www.ChurchillDowns.com/Tickets.

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Steve Asmussen Edges Mike Maker In Preakness Weekend Trainer Bonus

Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen edged defending champion Mike Maker to claim the top prize of $50,000 for the third time in five years in the Maryland Jockey Club's $100,000 trainer bonus offered to horsemen for their participation in stakes races over Preakness weekend, May 14-15, at Pimlico Race Course.

Asmussen started 11 horses in 10 stakes over the two days, finishing with 54 points. On May 15 he ran first and second with Mighty Mischief and Jaxon Traveler in the $200,000 Chick Lang (G3) and also finished second with Midnight Bourbon in the 146th Preakness Stakes (G1), Strike Power in the $150,000 Maryland Sprint (G3) and Casual in the $100,000 Runhappy Skipat. Boldor finished fourth for Asmussen in the $100,000 Jim McKay Turf Sprint.

Willful Woman's runner-up effort in the $250,000 Black-Eyed Susan (G2) was Asmussen's best finish with five horses on the May 14 program. He was also third with Arm Candy in the $100,000 Hilltop, fifth with Abrogate in the $150,000 Miss Preakness (G3), sixth with Max Player in the historic $250,000 Pimlico Special (G3) and seventh with Another Broad in the $150,000 Allaire du Pont (G3).

To be eligible, trainers had to run a minimum of five horses in the 15 Thoroughbred stakes races during Preakness weekend, not including the $100,000 UAE President Cup (G1) for Arabians. Points were accumulated for finishing first (10), second (seven), third (five), fourth (three) and fifth through last (one).

This marked the fifth straight year the MJC has offered the trainer bonus program. Asmussen also earned the top prize in each of the first two years, 2017 and 2018.

Maker ran seven horses in six stakes and finished with 43 points for a $25,000 bonus. He won the Black-Eyed Susan with Army Wife and ran first and seventh with Last Judgment and Treasure Trove in the Pimlico Special, also finishing seventh with Phantom Vision in the Hilltop. On Preakness day, Maker won the $250,000 Dinner Party (G2) with 2020 runner-up Somelikeithotbrown and Maryland Sprint with Special Reserve, and was seventh with Kasim in the $100,000 James W. Murphy.

Fair Hill (Md.) Training Center-based Graham Motion was third with 27 points and earned $12,000. Mean Mary won the $150,000 Gallorette (G3) and Alda and Mia Martina were respectively first and fourth in the Hilltop. Bye Bye Melvin was fourth and English Bee seventh in the Dinner Party.

Brad Cox, the 2019 top bonus winner, had 24 points to finish fourth and earn $7,000. He won the James Murphy with T D Dance, was second and third with Dreamalildreamofu and Getridofwhatailesu in the Dinner Party, seventh with French Empire in the Skipat and eighth with Adventuring in the Black-Eyed Susan.

Rounding out the top finishers were Chad Brown with 14 points ($4,000) and Mike Trombetta with 12 points ($2,000). Among his horses, Brown ran third and fourth with Great Island and Flighty Lady in the Gallorette and fifth with Crowded Trade and eighth with Risk Taking in the Preakness. Trombetta's best stakes finish came with Murphy runner-up Arzak.

Bonus money totaling $50,000 was also offered for trainers having the most points in non-stakes races during Preakness weekend, with points accumulated in similar fashion. Trombetta and Claudio Gonzalez, Maryland's winningest trainer the past four years, tied for first with 27 points and split the $35,000 top prize.

Also winning bonus money were Brittany Russell (21 points, $7,500), Hamilton Smith (15 points, $4,000), Arnaud Delacour (14 points, $1,750) and Anthony Aguirre (14 points, $1,750).

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Flavien Prat’s Preakness Ride Nets Jockey Of The Week Honors

Flavien Prat won his first Preakness Stakes with a powerful stretch run earning Jockey of the Week honors for May 10 through May 16. The award, which is voted on by a panel of racing experts, is for jockeys who are members of the Jockeys' Guild, the organization which represents more than 950 active riders in the United States as well as retired and permanently disabled jockeys.

Saddling his first runner in a Triple Crown race, trainer Michael McCarthy gave a leg up to Flavien Prat on Rombauer in the Grade 1 Preakness Stakes, the middle jewel of the Triple Crown. Riding the 3-year-old for the first time, Prat raced between horses in sixth place in the 10-horse field. Prat and Rombauer launched their bid from the outside on the final turn passing the pacesetters Medina Spirit and Midnight Bourbon in the stretch for the decisive 3-1/2 lengths victory.

“I was pretty confident going to the three-eighths pole,” Prat said. “I was behind the two favorites and I was travelling well. I thought if he switched leads and give me a good kick, I might be able to run them down.”

Rombauer covered the 1-3/16th miles in 1:53.62 returning $25.60 for the win.

Speaking to NBC after the race, Prat said: “It does feel different. Oh, what a feeling. I'm so thankful to [trainer] Michael [McCarthy] and all his team. I want to thank the groom and the pony girl, because he was quite on his toes before the race and I thought they did a great job.”

Prat continued, clearly humbled by the win.

“To be honest, when I left France it was to do better than what I was doing in France,” he said. “I didn't know the magnitude of these races. I knew a lot about the Breeders' Cup but the Triple Crown I didn't know much about it. I realize how important it is. There's so much history behind these races. To win one is amazing. To win the Preakness, it's even better.”

Prat's weekly statistics were 9-1-1-2 for an in-the-money rate of 44.4 percent and total purse earnings of $669,040. He sits comfortably atop the jockey standings at Santa Anita with 102 wins through May 16. He registered his 1,000th North American victory on Feb. 19, 2021 and has amassed 11 Southern California riding titles.

For Jockey of the Week, Prat out-polled Edwin Gonzalez who tied for number of wins with nine, Joel Rosario with two stakes wins including the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan, Diego Saenz with eight wins, and John Velazquez who won two graded stakes.

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Quarter Horse Dates Moved From Retama To Sam Houston Due To Ongoing Repairs

The 20-day 2021 Retama Park Quarter Horse live racing season, originally scheduled to begin June 24, will now take place at Sam Houston Race Park, as approved Tuesday by the Texas Racing Commission.

The transfer of dates was deemed necessary due to damage incurred by Retama Park as a result of the winter storm that affected Texas in February. Sub-freezing temperatures for a period of five days, along with subsequent damage from broken water pipes and sprinklers, caused significant damage to the grandstand, barn area and racing office. Repairs are underway but cannot be completed prior to the upcoming live Quarter Horse racing season.

Therefore, Sam Houston Race Park will host the entire meet, beginning on Wednesday, June 23 and concluding on Saturday, Aug. 7. Post time for all dates is 6:45 pm (Central).

June (4 Days):

Wednesday, June 23; Thursday, June 24, Friday, June 25 and Wednesday, June 30

July (12 Days):

Thursday, July 1; Friday, July 2; Wednesday, July 7; Thursday, July 8; Friday, July 9; Wednesday, July 14; Thursday, July 15; Friday, July 16; Wednesday, July 28; Thursday, July 29; Friday, July 30 and Saturday, July 31

August (4 Days):

Wednesday, August 4; Thursday, August 5; Friday, August 6 and Saturday, August 7

Modifications were made to the July schedule due to live racing at Gillespie Fair Grounds on July 3 and July 17 as well as the TQHA Yearling Sale, which will take place July 23 and July 24 at the Freeman Exposition Center in San Antonio.

“Our goal was to schedule the 20 race dates to accommodate Texas horsemen who are running in Fredericksburg and those attending the annual TQHA Yearling Sale,” said Dwight Berube, Vice President and General Manager of Sam Houston Race Park. “While we recognize that change in venues will not be easy for all parties, we acted in the best interest of Texas Racing.”

Sam Houston Race Park hosted one its most successful Thoroughbred meets earlier this year and the 2021 Quarter Horse meet, which began on April 23, is also exceeding expectations with full fields, strong handle and attendance numbers.

Purse funds will be transferred from Retama Park and will be bolstered by Sam Houston Race Park with daily overnight purses at approximately $220,000 per day. The stakes schedule, highlighted by the TQHA Sale Futurity (RG2), will be announced in the near future.

Stall applications for the upcoming meet are due by Friday, May 21. The racing office is under the direction of racing secretary James Leatherman; phone (281) 807-8780 and fax (281) 890-5485.

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