The story is familiar: trainer Mike Maker heads to Kentucky Downs with a turf marathoner, frequently with one he claimed, and walks away with a victory in the Kentucky Turf Cup Invitational Stakes (G2T). Five times it happened from 2015-22, and now the winningest trainer in Kentucky Cup history has extended his tally to six.
Ole Crazy Bone was responsible for extending his record Sept. 6, registering a mild 6-1 upset in the $2,496,667 million race just 2 1/2 months after Maker claimed the 5-year-old Ghostzapper gelding for $100,000 at Churchill Downs in late June. Between his acquisition and the Kentucky Turf Cup, he had been a troubled, fast-closing second in the Kentucky Downs Preview Turf Cup Stakes Aug. 3 at Ellis Park over a shorter 1 1/4-mile distance.
The extra quarter-mile proved just what he desired Saturday. Gobbling up the additional ground under reigning Eclipse Award-winning rider Flavien Prat, he reeled in pacesetting Corruption on his way to defeating graded stakes winner Tawny Port by 3 3/4 lengths. The winner advanced from a stalking position behind fractions of :24.20, :48.87, 1:12.89, 1:36.61, and 2:00.75 to complete 1 1/2 miles in 2:24.72 on a course rated good but still quite fast. He paid $15.50 to win.
All-sources wagering on Saturday's Kentucky Downs card exceeded $25.3 million, establishing a record.
Prat said he was uncertain how much run Ole Crazy Bone had late on the second turn, but after his mount switched leads in the stretch, "he really engaged and went on and got the job done," Prat said.
Corruption held on for the show, while favored Fort Washington ran a wide sixth.
Bred by Adena Springs in Kentucky out of the stakes-placed Smart Strike mare Southern Gem, Ole Crazy Bone notched his first stakes win of his 19-race career after three earlier stakes placings. Besides the Kentucky Downs Preview Turf Cup for Maker and owner Jay Provenzano's Flying P Stable, he had been third earlier this year in the John B. Connally Turf Cup Stakes at Sam Houston Race Park and second in the 2024 Texas Turf Classic Stakes for Allied Racing Stable and trainer Bret Calhoun.
"Listen, I couldn't wait to run this horse" at Kentucky Downs, Provenzano said by telephone. "He ran so big last time, it felt like I got kicked in the groin when we lost."
Maker noted the good condition in which Ole Crazy Bone arrived in his stable, saying simply that the horse fit the profile of what he often seeks in a claim.
"I wanted a horse that looked like he'd appreciate a mile and a half. We had the race at Ellis in mind, and this race, of course," he said.
Another multimillion-dollar race is now in Ole Crazy Bone's future. With the Kentucky Turf Cup part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In, Ole Crazy Bone earned an automatic, paid berth into the $5 million Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T) Nov. 1 at Del Mar.
"Well, Jay was already screaming Breeders' Cup when I called him. I'm guessing that's the direction we'll go," said Maker, a winner of three Breeders' Cup races but never the Turf.
Ghostzapper stood this past year for a private fee at Adena Springs North in Canada. Banishing, Segesta, Dr. Venkman, and Ole Crazy Bone are among the 25-year-old stallion's leading performers in 2025.
