The Kentucky racing calendar turns to Churchill Downs for the third and final time this year as the 26-day, five-week meet begins Oct. 27.
The fall meet marks a return of turf racing to the Louisville, Ky., track after Churchill's underperforming turf course was not used for the three-week September meet. Maintenance on the turf following the spring meet that concluded June 30 included scalping, aeration, and the sprigging and fertilization of Bermuda grass.
KING: Churchill Decides to Scrap Turf Racing in September
A total of 22 turf races are offered in the meet's first condition book, which runs through Nov. 16. None of the three Wednesday cards (Oct. 30, Nov. 6, and Nov. 13) offer a turf race, though extras, presumably to give the course a full three days of recovery each week. "Extra" races added to the overnight could replace races scheduled in the condition book.
Two turf races for maidens will be held on opening day.
Four $300,000 stakes races are carded for the turf course: the Nov. 9 River City Stakes (G3T), Nov. 23 Commonwealth Turf Stakes (G3T), Nov. 28 Cardinal Stakes (G3T), and the Nov. 29 Mrs. Revere Stakes (G2T).
In total, the fall meet offers 16 stakes worth a total of $5 million, including money from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund for Kentucky-breds. The stakes schedule is anchored by the 150th running of the $600,000 Clark Stakes (G2) Nov. 29.
Churchill Downs also hosts this year's Claiming Crown Nov. 16. That day will feature eight Claiming Crown races with starter allowance conditions, including three turf events, with $1.1 million in guaranteed purses plus an additional $130,000 from the KTDF.
More than $14 million will be offered in purse money through the first condition book's 15 days, with an average daily purse of $960,266.
Opening day Sunday is one of the most lucrative days of the meet, with $1,376,000 in purses up for grabs during a card strictly for juveniles. This is the first of two "Stars of Tomorrow" cards that feature all-juvenile racing, the second being Nov. 30.
Inaugurated in 2005 by then-racing secretary Doug Bredar, the "Stars of Tomorrow" cards have produced more than 50 grade 1 winners, including Hall of Famers Rachel Alexandra and Gun Runner . Two of the last four Kentucky Derby (G1) winners, Mandaloun and Mystik Dan, raced during these cards, and 2022 winner Rich Strike was in the entries for the 2021 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) during a "Stars of Tomorrow" card, only to be scratched.
Derby Points on the Line in Street Sense
Each "Stars of Tomorrow" card will feature a race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby and Oaks, offering the top five finishers points on a 10-5-3-2-1 scale, with the Street Sense Stakes (G3) and Rags to Riches Stakes held Sunday and the Kentucky Jockey Club and Golden Rod Stakes (G2) Nov. 30.
The $200,000 Street Sense drew 10 runners to contest its 1 1/16-mile distance. Only three contenders have experienced the distance in their young careers, with Bracket Buster being the only one victorious.
A 33-1 longshot in his first two-turn try in a Keeneland maiden race Oct. 9, the BBN Racing-owned son of Vekoma , trained by Vicki Oliver, pulled off the upset with a half-length victory after stalking the pace.
Ken Ramsey's Reach for the Rose, trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., was ninth when racing 1 1/16 miles in the Bourbon Stakes (G2T) at Keeneland Oct. 6. However, his lone try on dirt in five career starts, a one-mile maiden race over a sloppy Saratoga Race Course track, produced his lone victory by 5 1/2 lengths.
Valene Farms' Dapper Moon was fourth at 1 1/16 miles in the Oct. 5 Breeders' Futurity (G1) at Keeneland, earning the Dallas Stewart trainee two points for the Run for the Roses. D. J. Stable, St. Elias Stable, West Point Thoroughbreds, and CJ Stables' Sandman, trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse, is the only other contender with existing Derby points. The $1.2 million purchase at the Ocala Breeders' March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training earned one point for finishing fifth in the Sept. 14 Iroquois Stakes (G3) at Churchill.
The colt with the most credentials entering the field is Winchell Thoroughbreds, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith's Tiztastic. After finishing fifth on the dirt to multiple grade 1 winner Chancer McPatrick in his debut, Tiztastic pulled off a pair of turf victories in the span of 10 days at Kentucky Downs for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen. His last victory came in the Sept. 8 Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile by a neck.
Churchill Downs, Sunday, October 27, 2024, Race 10Entries: Street Sense S. (G3)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 Big Much (KY) Florent Geroux 122 Norm W. Casse - 2 Bracket Buster (KY) Axel Concepcion 122 Victoria H. Oliver - 3 Baby Boat (KY) Gerardo Corrales 122 James P. DiVito - 4 Sandman (KY) Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr. 122 Mark E. Casse - 5 Tiztastic (KY) Cristian A. Torres 122 Steven M. Asmussen - 6 Reach for the Rose (KY) Jaime A. Torres 122 Saffie A. Joseph, Jr. - 7 Dapper Moon (LA) Ricardo Santana, Jr. 122 Dallas Stewart - 8 Comes a Time (KY) Luis Saez 122 Brad H. Cox - 9 Forged Steel (KY) Tyler Gaffalione 122 Saffie A. Joseph, Jr. - 10 Sovereignty (KY) Junior Alvarado 122 William I. Mott -
Good Cheer to Make Noise in Rags to Riches
On the fillies' side in the $200,000 Rags to Riches, the 1 1/16-mile distance is more familiar with five of the eight runners having covered that ground in their last start.
Godolphin homebred Good Cheer is one of those five, romping by 17 lengths over Adeera in a Sept. 28 allowance over a sloppy Churchill Downs track. In two starts, the Medaglia d'Oro filly has won both by a combined 25 1/4 lengths.
"We like her a lot. She had a nice win here in September, and then we zeroed in on this race," said trainer Brad Cox. "Her works have been very, very good and she's maintained her weight well. Physically she looks great. We're excited about stepping into stakes company with her, and I think we'll get a big effort from her."
Rigney Racing sends forward a promising filly in Claire's Charm, who they thought highly enough to enter as a maiden in the Sept. 14 Pocahontas Stakes (G3). Failing to draw in off the also-eligible list, she instead broke her maiden in a one-mile event Sept. 22 by 1 1/2 lengths. The Violence filly was briefly considered for the Breeders' Cup, but trainer Phil Bauer elected to keep her in Kentucky as she has yet to face stakes company.
Churchill Downs, Sunday, October 27, 2024, Race 9Entries: Rags to Riches S.
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 My Lil Punky (KY) Junior Alvarado 122 John Ennis - 2 Claire's Charm (KY) Tyler Gaffalione 122 Philip A. Bauer - 3 Sherbini (KY) Florent Geroux 122 Mark E. Casse - 4 Alyeska (KY) Ricardo Santana, Jr. 122 Norm W. Casse - 5 Mechaya (KY) Cristian A. Torres 122 James P. DiVito - 6 Good Cheer (KY) Luis Saez 122 Brad H. Cox - 7 Adeera (KY) Erik Asmussen 122 Steven M. Asmussen - 8 Lady Orient (KY) Edgar Morales 122 Thomas M. Amoss -
