With an unprecedented 11 wins and $2,048,712 in purse earnings, trainer Mike Maker already has enjoyed a record run at the FanDuel Meet at Kentucky Downs this year — with the opportunity to further pad his statistics.
Maker, working on breaking his own record of six Kentucky Downs training titles, had five horses scheduled to run on Tuesday's nine-race card comprising the races that were postponed from Sunday because of inclement weather. He has 14 horses entered for Wednesday's closing card, including two entrants in four races.
Maker is represented in the three stakes that close out the meet. He has favored Really Good and Bourbon Therapy in the $500,000 Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile that was rescheduled from the Sept. 3 card truncated by heavy rain. Real Good, the 5-2 favorite in the Global Tote morning line, won his lone start in a 1 1/16-mile grass race at Saratoga. Bourbon Therapy was sold to Three Diamonds Farm and sent to Maker after winning a grass sprint at Horseshoe Indianapolis.
“Really Good had a nice debut at Saratoga, and we have high expectations for him,” Maker said. “Bourbon Therapy is most likely a scratch.”
Camp David drew in off the also-eligible list to get in the inaugural $500,000 Gun Runner Stakes for 3-year-olds running a mile. It will be his first start for Three Diamonds Farm and Maker since being purchased for $130,000 at Fasig-Tipton's July sale of horses of racing age.
Camp David makes his turf debut after winning an off-the-turf maiden race at Keeneland last fall. Following a seven-month layoff, the colt won an Indiana allowance race on dirt before fading to fifth in Churchill Downs' Grade 3 Matt Winn Stakes.
“He's trained very well for us and we look forward to getting him started,” Maker said.
Maker also got Gogo Shoes off the also-eligible list and into the meet's final stakes, the $400,000 One Dreamer for fillies and mares that have not one a stakes in 2022. Gogo Shoes makes her first start for Maker, who claimed the 5-year-old mare for himself for $75,000 out of her last start at Colonial Downs.
“I like her,” Maker said. “I claimed her at Colonial this summer and she's trained very well. I look forward to running her.”
Though he has set records with pretty much two days left, Maker said it's important to him to try to end with a bang.
“Very important,” he said. “I wish we had more racing dates here at Kentucky Downs. We're trying to get all we can.”
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