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Kentucky Racing Shifts To Turfway Park; Four $100,000 Stakes During 2021 Holiday Meet

Thoroughbred racing on the Kentucky circuit shifts from Churchill Downs in Louisville to its sister track Turfway Park Racing & Gaming, 94 miles to the northeast in Florence, on Thursday, Dec. 2 at 6:15 p.m. (all times Eastern) for the 16-day Holiday Meet.

The Holiday Meet covers a five-week stretch every Thursday-Sunday through Friday, Dec. 31 with the exception of no racing on Christmas Eve (Dec. 24) or Christmas Day (Dec. 25). The first of eight races every Thursday-Saturday is 6:15 p.m. Sunday's eight-race programs will start at 1 p.m. Only seven races will be staged on New Year's Eve (Dec. 31).

Following the Holiday Meet, Turfway will commence its 38-day Winter Meet on Jan. 1, which will continue for 14 weeks through Saturday, April 2 – the new date for its marquee race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, the Jeff Ruby Steaks (Grade 3) for 3-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles now worth $600,000, a $350,000 boost from the 2021 renewal.

The Jeff Ruby Steaks, which offers 170 qualifying points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby (Top 4 Points: 100-40-20-10), is the centerpiece of a revitalized stakes program thanks to increased interest by Kentucky horsemen and Churchill Downs Incorporated's investment and redevelopment of Turfway Park, which is scheduled for completion and to reopen next summer.

Turfway Park will present 24 stakes events – four during the Holiday Meet and 20 during the Winter Meet – that total $3.55 million. Four stakes are scheduled for the Holiday Meet and another 20 will be run during the Winter Meet. Each is worth a minimum $100,000 and there will be at least one stakes race carded weekly. Fourteen of the stakes have been brought back from an extended hiatus.

In addition to the Jeff Ruby Steaks, the $125,000 John Battaglia Memorial at 1 1/16 miles on March 5 will offer 17 “Prep Season” points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby (Top 4 Points: 10-4-2-1). The $250,000 Bourbonette (Listed) on April 2, now 1 1/16 miles, and $125,000 Cincinnati Trophy, now one mile, on March 5 will offer qualifying points for 3-year-old fillies on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks (Top 4 Points: 100-40-20-10 and 10-4-2-1, respectively).

A total of six stakes cumulatively worth $1.7 million highlights the Jeff Ruby Steaks Day card on closing day, which falls five weeks in advance of the Kentucky Derby.

Horsemen will compete for $4.974 million (all purses include prize money from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund) offered in Director of Racing Tyler Picklesimer's 127-race Holiday Meet condition book. Maiden special weight races are worth $62,000 and allowance races range from $63,000 to $68,000.

The average starters per race during last year's Holiday Meet was a strong 10.5, which produced highly competitive racing over the track's Tapeta synthetic surface. Installed during the summer of 2020, the Tapeta surface has received positive reviews from horsemen and jockeys alike and has proven to be a fair and rewarding surface for horseplayers.

Gerardo Corrales, who has ridden in the U.S. since 2015 after graduating from the Laffit Pincay Jockey Training Academy in his native Panama, is back to defend his Holiday Meet and Winter Meet riding titles from a year ago. He won 15 races during the Holiday Meet and another 40 at the Winter Meet.

There will be several new additions to the jockey colony including journeyman riders Joe Rocco Jr. and Joe Talamo.

“I'm excited to stay home this winter,” said Talamo, who shifted his tack from California to Kentucky in 2020. “I've been trying out different winter gloves and scarves to get ready for the winter in Kentucky. With the purse money that keeps going up at Turfway, I think it was a good decision to stay home.”

Rocco, who's been a fixture on the Kentucky circuit since 2012, typically spent his winter at Oaklawn but will stay “home” for the Turfway meet.

“As your kids start to get older, it gets harder leaving each winter,” Rocco said. “I think it'll be a good change staying at Turfway.”

Other Kentucky riders that are scheduled to be in the Turfway jocks room include Rafael Bejarano and Chris Landeros.

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Bill Morey was the 2020 Holiday Meet leading trainer with six wins, while Wesley Ward dominated the 2021 Winter Meet trainer standings with 21 wins, nine more than Morey. In addition to Morey and Ward, trainers Brad Cox, Tommy Drury Jr., Mike Maker, Michael McCarthy and Mike Tomlinson are slated to have Turfway divisions this year.

“We'll mainly be based at Fair Grounds and Oaklawn this winter but we'll have a few horses that we keep in Kentucky to run at Turfway,” Cox said.

Turfway Park's wagering menu will feature a 15-percent takeout, 50-cent Pick 5 that starts in Race 1 each night as well as the 15-percent takeout 20-cent Single 6 Jackpot on Races 3-8. Also, there are two 14-percent takeout, 50-cent Pick 4 sequences on each card with the first offered on Races 2-5 and the second on Races 5-8.

The Single 6 jackpot will be paid only if there is a single winning wager with six winners placed at the required minimum bet value. If there are multiple winning wagers with six winners in the six-race sequence, 90 percent of the net money wagering into the pool will be paid, and the remaining 10 percent will carry to the Single 6 jackpot. If there are no tickets will all six winners, 100 percent of the pool will carry to the Single 6 jackpot.

Win, Place, Show, Exacta, Trifecta, Superfecta, Daily Double and Pick 3 wagers will be offered every race (on all races that qualify under Kentucky statutes for minimum field size) and the $1 Super Hi-5 will once again be offered in the last race.

Racing fans can wager on racing from Churchill Downs via www.TwinSpires.com, the official advance-deposit wagering service for Churchill Downs Incorporated and its family of racetracks. Also, fans of Turfway Park racing are encouraged to download the Churchill Downs LIVE app. The Churchill Downs LIVE app is available free of charge on streaming services such as Amazon, Apple TV and Roku. Fans can download the Churchill Downs LIVE app for full access to a free HD live stream of the simulcast signal for all Churchill Downs Incorporated-owned racetracks, including Turfway Park.

Jimmy McNerney will describe the racing action throughout the Holiday and Winter Meet.

For more information, visit www.turfway.com.

2021 TURFWAY PARK HOLIDAY MEET STAKES SCHEDULE

4 stakes cumulatively worth $400,000

Date	Running (Last)	Grade	Purse	Race	Conditions	Distance	Surface
Saturday, Dec. 4	35^th	Black Type	$100,000	Holiday Inaugural	3&up, f&m	6 F	Tapeta
Saturday, Dec. 11	33^rd (2011)	Black Type	$100,000	My Charmer	3&up, f&m	1 1/16 M	Tapeta
Saturday, Dec. 18	26^th (2019)	Black Type	$100,000	Prairie Bayou	3&up	1 1/16 M	Tapeta
Sunday, Dec. 26	28^th (2011)	Black Type	$100,000	Gowell	2yo f	6 F	Tapeta

* All purses include prize money from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund

2022 TURFWAY PARK WINTER MEET STAKES SCHEDULE

20 stakes cumulatively worth $3.15 million

Date	Running (Last)	Grade	Purse	Race	Conditions	Distance	Surface
Saturday, Jan. 1	24^th (2012)	Black Type	$100,000	Holiday Cheer	3&up	6 F	Tapeta
Saturday, Jan. 8	29^th (2013)	Black Type	$100,000	Turfway Prevue	3yo	6 ½ F	Tapeta
Saturday, Jan. 15	23^rd (2013)	Black Type	$100,000	Likely Exchange	4&up, f&m	1 M	Tapeta
Saturday, Jan. 22	31^st (2013)	Black Type	$100,000	Leonatus (formerly the Presidents)	3yo	1 M	Tapeta
Saturday, Jan. 29	28^th (2012)	Black Type	$100,000	Wishing Well	4&up, f&m	6 ½ F	Tapeta
Saturday, Feb. 5	38^th	Black Type	$100,000	Forego	4&up	6 ½ F	Tapeta
Saturday, Feb. 12	35^th (2012)	Black Type	$100,000	Valdale	3yo f	6 ½ F	Tapeta
Saturday, Feb. 19	31^st (2012)	Black Type	$100,000	Dust Commander	4&up	1 1/16 M	Tapeta
Saturday, Feb. 26	38^th (2011)	Black Type	$100,000	Wintergreen (formerly the Fairway Fun)	4&up, f&m	1 M	Tapeta
Saturday, March 5	41^st	Black Type	$125,000	John Battaglia Memorial Road to the Kentucky Derby Points: 10-4-2-1	3yo	1 1/16 M	Tapeta
Saturday, March 5	36^th	Black Type	$125,000	Cincinnati Trophy Road to the Kentucky Oaks Points: 10-4-2-1	3yo f	1 M	Tapeta
Friday, March 12	3^rd (1990)	Black Type	$100,000	Big Daddy (formerly the Daniel Boone)	4&up	6 F	Tapeta
Saturday, March 19	26^th (2011)	Black Type	$100,000	Queen	4&up, f&m	6 F	Tapeta
Saturday, March 26	2^nd (1988)	Black Type	$100,000	Serena's Song (formerly the Tea House)	3yo f	6 F	Tapeta
Saturday, April 2	51^st	III	$600,000	Jeff Ruby Steaks Road to Kentucky Derby Points: 100-40-20-10	3yo	1 1/8 M	Tapeta
Saturday, April 2	40^th	Listed	$250,000	Bourbonette Oaks Road to Kentucky Oaks Points: 50-20-10-5	3yo f	1 1/16 M	Tapeta
Saturday, April 2	21^st	Listed	$250,000	TwinSpires Kentucky Cup Classic	4&up	1 1/8 M	Tapeta
Saturday, April 2	35^th	Black Type	$200,000	Latonia	4&up, f&m	1 1/16 M	Tapeta
Saturday, April 2	35^th	Black Type	$200,000	Rushaway	3yo	1 1/16 M	Tapeta
Saturday, April 2	8^th	Black Type	$200,000	Animal Kingdom	3yo	6 F	Tapeta

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‘I Don’t Have The Right Words To Describe It’: Jockey Alice Beckman Celebrates First Winner At Turfway Park

In her first race as a licensed jockey on March 20 at Turfway Park in Florence, Ky., Alice Beckman finished second by a half-length. Back in the irons five days later, the end result saw the exact same margin between the first and second-place finishers: a half-length. This time, however, Beckman came out on the winning side of the wire.

“Going into it I thought the horse had a chance, so I tried to mentally prepare myself,” Beckman explained. “But you just can't prepare yourself for that feeling. It was so fun, and I don't have the right words to describe it, really.”

Both horses, Crown the Prince (1st on March 25) and So Caught Up In U (2nd on March 20), are trained by Beckman's boyfriend of the past several years, Keith Kinmon. The two-person team operates a training, breaking, and breeding business about 45 minutes away from Turfway in Northern Kentucky, doing all the work themselves on anywhere from 20 to 30 horses at a time.

“He's been so supportive of me wanting to ride races,” said Beckman, 28.

Beckman acknowledges that she's a bit later to the game of race-riding than most of her peers, despite growing up around horses in Ohio.

“It's always kind of been in the back of my mind, that I want to be a jockey,” she said. “I remember in kindergarten, the teacher had us write down what we wanted to be when we grew up. I wrote down three choices: a trick rider in the circus, a cowgirl, or a jockey.

“I'd always been drawn to the racetrack, so when my college plans to go to vet school weren't really working out like I'd hoped, I made a new plan. My advisor was so great, he asked me, 'Taking away all the expectations of others, what's your dream job? What do you want to do every day?' The answer was simple: be a jockey.”

That advisor got Beckman into the Kentucky Equine Management Internship Program, and she spent several years working for Juddmonte Farm before heading to Payson Park in Florida to work with young racehorses. She loved the high-paced atmosphere of the racetrack, and so when she moved home to Ohio, Beckman started freelance exercising full time.

Beckman met Kinmon at Belterra Park in Cincinnati when he asked her to gallop a few horses one day. They've been inseparable ever since, working overtime to take care of their eight horses at Turfway and another 15-20 at the farm. Beckman couldn't have been more thrilled that her first win as a jockey came on a horse he both owns and trains.

“Have owned a few racehorses myself, it's always fun to be in the winner's circle,” said Beckman. “But when it was him and me in there, and I was on top of the horse, it was a whole different level.”

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Turfway’s Winter Handle Up 36 Percent; Corrales, Ward Wrap Up Meet Titles

A stout 36.5 percent increase of all sources handle, along with a rise in starters per race, topped Turfway Park's 38-day Winter/Spring meet that opened Jan 1. and concluded Saturday.

Turfway Park's meet saw overall handle grow to $81.7 million, a $21.9 million increase from 2020. All sources handle per day was up 32.9 percent. The average field size topped 9.8 horses per race compared to 2020's 9.7 starters per race.

“We can't thank our owners, trainers, jockeys and horseplayers enough for supporting our meet,” Turfway Park's General Manager Chip Bach said. “Our team put together a competitive racing product that appealed to horseplayers nationwide. The positive feedback from the installation of our Tapeta surface was universal from trainers and jockeys. Through Churchill Downs Incorporated's continued investment to renovate Turfway Park, we are looking forward to the future of horse racing in Florence.”

Six live racing days were cancelled due to inclement weather at Turfway Park. However, five of those days were made up by adding an additional race day each week.

Jockey Gerardo Corrales (177-40-27-23—$655,831) had a 23 percent win clip during the meet and led all riders. He finished seven victories ahead of second place Rafael Bejarano, who had 33 wins. A graduate of the Laffit Pincay Jockey School, Corrales' meet was capped by a victory aboard Outadore in the $65,000 Animal Kingdom Stakes on the undercard of the Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3).

Trainer Wesley Ward's victory with Like the King in the $250,000 Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) were among his 21 wins at the meet. He had an outstanding 38 percent win clip with purse earnings of $410,997. Ward topped the trainer standings, 21-12, nine wins in front of Bill Morey, who relocated to Kentucky in 2019 from California.

“Kentucky is the epicenter for sales and racing,” Morey said. “We had a fantastic meet at Turfway and really enjoyed running over the Tapeta surface.”

Augustin Stable led the owner standings with eight wins through 20 starts. All eight victories were ridden by jockey Chris Landeros. They finished two wins in front of Small Town Paddock, who recorded six wins through nine starts. They were one win in front of Live Oak Plantation's five wins from eight starters.

A trio of horses recorded three wins at the meet: Richard Alderson's Till Then, who won two of his races under former owner Augustin Stable and Small Town Paddock's Floroplus and Kynance (IRE).

Like the King Stamps Ticket to Kentucky Derby with Victory in Jeff Ruby Steaks

M Racing Group's Like the King stamped his spot in the starting gate for the Grade 1, $3 million Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve with his victory in the 50th running of the $250,000 Jeff Ruby Steaks, the premiere race of Turfway Park's meet.

Trained by Ward, Like the King earned 100 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby for his one-length win in the Jeff Ruby Steaks. Jeff Ruby Steaks day also featured a victory by Godolphin's Adventuring in the $150,000 Bourbonette Oaks (Listed). She was awarded 50 points towards a spot in the April 30, $1.25 million Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1).

Racing in the Commonwealth of Kentucky will shift to Keeneland on Friday for their Spring Meet, which runs through April 23. Kentucky Derby Week at Churchill Downs will begin April 24 and their Spring Meet will run through June 26.

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‘Very Tricky’ Tarantino Has Finally Matured; Brisset Expecting Big Performance At Turfway

When Tarantino returned East last fall to try a different racetrack and/or go through the auction ring, trainer Bob Baffert cautioned the owners not to sell the colt too cheaply. And when the $610,000 yearling purchase brought a high bid of $240,000 at Keeneland's November sale, Tarantino indeed was not sold.

Baffert's advice has proven sage. Tarantino, now trained by Rodolphe Brisset, is the 3-1 favorite in Saturday's $250,000, Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks at Turfway Park. The race offers the maximum 170 points toward qualifying for the May 1 Kentucky Derby, with the 100 points for a win and 40 for a second virtually assuring making the 20-horse field.

Tarantino is a son of the late Pioneerof the Nile, also the sire of 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah. He's owned by the high profile partnerships and entities of SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Golconda Stable, Siena Farm LLC and Robert Masterson.

The California-based Baffert got his reputation as one of the best trainers who ever lived by winning a ton of Triple Crown races, not for any particular prowess running 2-year-olds on turf. But that's where Tarantino started out after not showing a lot in his workouts on dirt. Tarantino won his debut at a mile on turf at Del Mar, then lost Santa Anita's Zuma Beach, also a mile on grass, by a nose.

“He was very inconsistent on the dirt breezing-wise in California, that's the feedback I got from Mr. Baffert and the ownership team,” Brisset said. “They always thought he had some talent. When he came up to Santa Anita to Mr. Baffert, maybe he didn't really like the track there. Some times at Los Alamitos, he'd work OK, sometimes just so-so. Same at Del Mar.

“Mr. Baffert told the group not to let him go, to put a nice reserve on him, when he went through the sale. He said, 'The horse has talent; we just need to figure him out.' Everybody knows I ride (horses in the morning). We work as a team, and Mr. Baffert said, 'Why don't you send him to Rodolphe, and he can get on him and maybe figure him out?' He showed up to us in beautiful condition. It took us a couple of weeks to figure him out. Then he took a couple of weeks to get (comfortable) in our program, too. He actually trained at Turfway for a month. I breezed him myself there, and he worked very well. Then he went through the sale. He wasn't sold, and we sent him to Florida.”

In his first start for Brisset, the colt won a grass allowance race at Gulfstream Park. Brisset says he actually was hoping the race came off the turf because he thought Tarantino would run well on dirt, given the way he was training.

He got his chance on dirt in Gulfstream Park's Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes, finishing second behind Greatest Honour, and then fourth to the same horse in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth. Greatest Honour is the favorite for Saturday's Florida Derby.

“That's what the group wants,” Brisset said of 3-year-olds on the Kentucky Derby trail. “They're looking for Grade 1 on the dirt. I'm not saying they stay away from the turf, but they want the action of 3-year-olds on the dirt and even 4-year-olds. But they want to be in the big races, on the big day. If you look at the big picture, he's bred for the dirt. I think he can run on anything to be honest.”

Tarantino accumulated nine points toward Kentucky Derby qualifying in the Holy Bull and Fountain of Youth.

“He's a very tricky horse,” Brisset said. “In the morning, you've got to stay busy on him sometimes. He's getting better at that, but you can't quit on him because he'll quit on you…. In the Holy Bull, we were sitting right off the pace and he dug in pretty hard and ran a really good second. The Fountain of Youth was really rough. He was the 7, and on the inside it got pretty ugly. We wound up being seven-wide. On the first turn, we got bumped pretty hard and we ended up being like six, seven-wide. We weren't going to win the race, but maybe it cost us third or second. But it's the past. I think we are where we need to be. He's going to have to show up and run 1-2. If he does, I think we're in” the Derby.

“He's changed a lot, physically, matured a lot,” Brisset continued. “And that's a good thing, between 2 and 3. He got bigger, wider and looks like he's enjoying training. I'm very, very happy the way he looks, and his last work was very, very good. He's a horse who doesn't gallop out in his breeze. He doesn't show anything. Trust me, you don't want to breeze him around the track by himself. But the last couple of weeks he's been way more forward. The breeze the other day, a couple of people took pictures. You could see that he was off the bridle, his ears are up and he went in 48, a minute, 1:12 and change the gallop out, so it was a good work.”

Florent Geroux, coming in off big winter meets at both Arkansas's Oaklawn Park and New Orleans' Fair Grounds, will ride Tarantino for the first time for his close friend and fellow French native.

As far as the Kentucky Derby, most of the partners in Tarantino, including Starlight and SF Racing, also have Rebel Stakes runner-up Hozier (20 points) and Florida Derby contender Spielberg (16) in the thick of the hunt. Those owners also won the Triple Crown in 2018 with Justify and Starlight was a minority owner in 2020 winner Authentic.

Jack Wolf, the Louisville resident who founded Starlight Racing, said any Derby decision would be up to Tom Ryan of SF Racing, in consultation with Brisset, if Tarantino runs like they hope in the Jeff Ruby.

“It's fun to be in these big 100-point races, and at least have the option,” Wolf said. “If he runs well and gets a good number, then I'm sure we'll go ahead and run him. But there, again, it would be up to Tom and Rodolphe.”

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