Kentucky Downs Stakes Schedule Released

[Wandering Eyes]

Kentucky Downs’ six-day live meet in September will include 16 stakes, headlined by the Runhappy Meet at Kentucky Downs. The all-turf festival, which will be contested Sept. 7, 9, 10, 12, 13 and 16, includes five graded stakes, four of those are showcased on the Sept. 12 card–the $1-million GIII Calumet Farm Kentucky Turf Cup; GIII Runhappy Turf Sprint (a Breeders’ Cup ‘Win and You’re In’ for the BC Turf Sprint Nov. 7); GIII Three Chimneys Ladies Turf; and GIII Spendthrift Farm Ladies Sprint. The card will also feature the Fifth Third Insurance Juvenile Turf Sprint.

The nominations for all 16 stakes close Wednesday, Aug. 26.

New to the 2020 stakes schedule are the Ramsey Farm Music City S. for 3-year-old fillies and Untapable S. for 2-year-old fillies–both 6 1/2 furlong races will be contested Sept. 13 with a $400,000 purse.

“We’re very pleased with what we’re able to offer in 2020 in these challenging times,”said Ted Nicholson, Kentucky Downs’ senior vice president and general manager. “Our two new stakes fill a previous void for female sprinters and now we have something for everyone in the turf division. Our non-stakes purses have been dialed back a bit but remain among the most lucrative in the world.”

Kentucky Downs gave $150,000 purse increases to a pair of existing 3-year-old stakes-the Gun Runner Dueling Grounds Derby, now equals the Sept. 7 Tourist Mile with a $750,000 purse, and the $500,000 Exacta Systems Dueling Grounds Oaks. Both races will be contested Sept. 10.

With an estimated $12 million projected to be paid out over six days is slightly up from the more than $11.5 million paid out over five dates last year. Maiden races for Kentucky-bred horses in 2020 will be worth $90,000, first-level allowance races $95,000 and second-level allowance races $100,000. For Kentucky Downs’ condition book, click here.

The meet concludes Sept. 16 and includes four starter-allowance races carrying $100,000 purses that will serve as automatic qualifying races for the Claiming Crown at Gulfstream Park.

Kentucky Downs re-opened for Historical Horse Racing June 10 following the 12-week COVID-19 shutdown while simulcast wagering resumed June 11. Kentucky Downs reconfigured its gaming operation to facilitate social distancing and has instituted additional safety and cleaning protocols.

For more information, visit www.kentuckydowns.com.

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