The 2024 Kentucky Downs meet promises to be the track’s best yet. Flush with even more purse money than ever before thanks to historical horse racing legislation and the nearby Mint Gaming Hall, Kentucky Downs is on course to host the one of the most lucrative race meets in North American history.
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This year, a record $37 million in purses could be paid out over the seven-day all-turf meet. The Franklin, Ky., track will hold 19 stakes, nine of them graded, across the European-style turf course.
“My expectations are the same every year for this meet,” said Kentucky Downs vice president for racing Ted Nicholson. “You plan for 48-50 weeks out of the year and it happens, you blink, and it’s over. But we’re excited. The purses are even higher than the purses last year and we feel like we’re going to attract some bigger and better horses. We have some horses coming to compete from Europe.”
For the first time in the track’s 33 years of operation, Kentucky Downs will stage its first grade 1 event, the $1 million Franklin-Simpson Stakes (G1T) for 3-year-olds going 6 1/2 furlongs. The Franklin-Simpson is the sole grade 1 race in the country for sophomores sprinting on the turf. Although the race is not part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series, Kentucky Downs will pay the entry fees for the winner should they compete in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1T) at Del Mar this fall.
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“We’re excited to put together a grade 1 race but we’re not resting on that,” Nicholson said. “We’re working very hard to make sure our grade 2s get elevated to grade 1 status after this year and some of the 3s could even get a double jump or single jump. We’re focusing on bettering all of our stakes for when the Graded Stakes Committee meets again in December.”
Two of those grade 2s, the lucrative Kentucky Turf Cup (G2T) and the Ainsworth Turf Sprint (G2T) serve as Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series qualifying races for the Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1T) and Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, respectively. Both contests will take place Sept. 7 on a race card that is the second-richest in the country surpassed only by the Breeders’ Cup Championships. Race purses Sept. 7 are equivalent to $13 million.
While the Kentucky Downs races act as a platform for registered Kentucky-bred horses, with $15 million on the table in purses from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund for which horses bred out of state are ineligible, Nicholson said there will be an influx of European contenders arriving for this year’s meet.
Nicholson credited the hire of Martin Panza, co-director of racing operations at Kentucky Downs, for the heightened interest from Europe.
“(Panza) has really helped us attract the Europeans to come to our meet,” Nicholson said. “We’ve given them their own barn. It’s like an isolation barn for them. A lot of horses will come through from Churchill Downs where they’ve done their quarantine so it works out pretty well.”
Among the European horses scheduled to compete at Kentucky Downs include the Charlie Hills-trained pair of Ancient Rome , back to defend his title in the Mint Millions Stakes (G3T), and Khaadem , a two-time winner of the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (G1) at Royal Ascot.
Kentucky Downs is a unique track in that it provides a country fair-like atmosphere for its guests. The relaxed, family-friendly environment buries the divide between horsemen, owners, and fans and makes for a memorable day at the races. Nicholson noted that management has made several capital improvements ahead of opening day, including a new pavilion behind the finish line, a suite available for purchase by the eighth pole, and a newly asphalted parking lot off Highway 31W.
A card of 11 races with an average field size of 11.5 kicks off opening day of the meet Aug. 29. The highlight of the card is the $500,000 Tapit Stakes, contested over one mile and 70 yards for horses aged 3 years and up who have not won a sweepstakes in 2024. Contenders for the Tapit include 2023 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes (G1T) winner Atone and the 1-2 finishers in last year’s race, Harlan Estate and English Bee .
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