Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund

A total of 20 stakes worth $3.977-million will highlight Turfway's Winter/Spring meeting and is anchored by the 55th running of the GIII Jeff Ruby Stakes--with Kentucky Derby points on the line--Saturday, Mar. 21, the track announced Monday morning. Racing at the Northern Kentucky institution will be kicked off by the Holiday Meet Dec. 3-27 and will feature seven stakes led by Synthetic Championships Night Saturday, Dec. 13--which offers $1-million across four of those black-type contests. All stakes purses at both meets include contributions from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund. Combined,...

Two months out from the Dec. 3 start to its 65-date winter/spring season, Turfway Park is projecting maiden special weight (MSW) purses to be $90,000. That's an increase of $10,000 per race from the $80,000 MSW purse level that Turfway paid at the 2024-25 meet. But that figure also falls $10,000 short of the work-in-progress goal stated earlier this year by Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI), Turfway's parent company, of having MSW races of at least $100,000 at all five Thoroughbred tracks in Kentucky. Back in May, Gary Palmisano, Jr., the...

Stakes purses at Ellis Park will reach a record number this summer with an expected $4-million available across 18 races during the 25-day meeting, it was announced via press release. With the season set to begin July 3, the stakes lineup is led by the $400,000 GIII Pucker Up Stakes, one of seven races on Kentucky Downs Preview Weekend Aug. 2-3, and will also include the $300,000 Listed Ellis Park Derby and the $200,000 Listed Groupie Doll Stakes the weekend of Aug. 10. Those two contests lead a six-stakes lineup...

Ellis Park is projecting a significant boost for maiden special weight (MSW) purses at its upcoming 25-date summer meet, up from $71,000 last year to "in the $100,000 range" according to Gary Palmisano, Jr., the vice president of racing for Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI), the gaming company that is the corporate owner of the Western Kentucky track. Palmisano also projected that planned transfers of Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund (KTDF) money from Kentucky Downs and the allocation of funding from other sources within CDI's in-state gaming operations would bridge a gap...

Keeneland Race Course is projecting overall purses for the upcoming April meet to increase in the range of 10-12%, with maiden special weight (MSW) purses for 3-year-olds and up rising to $110,000 after that MSW figure had plateaued at $100,000 for the past three springs. Churchill Downs plans to card 3-and-up MSW races at $120,000 during its April-June meet, a level that hasn't changed since 2022. Executives from both tracks disclosed those spring 2025 purse projections during the Jan. 28 Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund (KTDF) advisory board meeting. Rick Hiles,...

Godolphin's Cody's Wish (Curlin) was named 2023 Kentucky-bred Horse of the Year and older dirt male, while his dam, Dance Card (Tapit), was named broodmare of the year by the Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders. Godolphin also received awards for Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief) as champion 3-year-old filly and as KTDF Owner of the Year and winner of the P.A.B. Widener Trophy as KTOB Breeder of the Year. Other Kentucky-bred champions announced Wednesday: 2-year-old male: Fierceness (City of Light) (Breeder Repole Stable); 2-year-old filly Just F Y I (Justify) (George...

Purses for maiden special weight (MSW) races are projected to remain unchanged for the third straight spring at both Keeneland Race Course and Churchill Downs. Track executives disclosed the pre-condition book figures during the Feb. 1 Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund (KTDF) advisory board meeting. Keeneland expects to write $100,000 MSW races for 3-year-olds and older horses, with 2-year-olds competing for $80,000, according to Gatewood Bell, Keeneland's vice president of racing. Continuing a condition that Keeneland tried last fall, Bell added that there will also be four maiden-auction races written for...

In addition to awarding a season record $8.1 million for their 19 stakes races over the course of the meet running from Apr. 5-26, Keeneland will also celebrate the 100th running of the $1-million GI Toyota Blue Grass S. this spring. A total of $1.5 million is being contributed to the stakes purses from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund (KTDF), pending approval from the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. "Lucrative purses and outstanding competition make Keeneland's Spring Meet a highlight of the racing calendar for horsemen, horseplayers and fans during the...

Turfway Park purses for maiden special weight (MSW) races are projected to stay level at $70,000, the same as last season. The dovetailed 2023-24 meets that run through March will open Nov. 29. Chip Bach, Turfway's general manager, reported that projection during the Oct. 3 Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund (KTDF) advisory board meeting. The overall purse structure, Bach said, will also be "similar" to the previous meet "even though we're adding days and races." Bach said Turfway plans on running Wednesdays through Saturdays with a 5:55 p.m. Eastern first post,...

FanDuel, already returning as the Kentucky Downs meet's title sponsor, will also now assume sponsorship of the $1.7-million GII FanDuel Kentucky Turf Cup. The 1 1/2-mile stakes anchors the Sept. 9 card of six graded stakes each worth at least $1 million for Kentucky-breds at the Franklin, Kentucky oval. The sponsorship includes the Aug. 31 opening-day $500,000 FanDuel TV Tapit S. for 3-year-olds and up that have not won a stakes in 2023 and the FanDuel VIP Chalet, which provides air-conditioning in an upscale environment with a spectacular view of...

Kentucky Downs is adding the $500,000 National Thoroughbred League H. to its already lucrative stakes schedule, the track announced on Monday. The one-mile event for 3-year-olds and up will be worth $300,000 with an additional $200,000 from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund up for grabs. It will be contested on Sunday Sept. 3. The newest stakes race is named after the Kentucky Downs Day sponsor, which is a new concept based on teams of horses representing different owners and markets. The jockeys in the race will wear NTL team silks,...

The GIII Mint Millions S. will become the first $2-million race ever run at Kentucky Downs, as well as the richest American turf race outside of the Breeders' Cup, when it is run Sept. 2 at the Franklin track. The one-mile Mint Millions offers a base purse of $1 million, with another $1 million from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund (KTDF). Last year, the base was $600,000, with a $400,000 supplement from the KTDF. The Millions was one of 17 stakes--including nine graded events--that was unveiled Wednesday for the track's...