Turfway Park will offer 28 stakes worth a record $5.477 million across its 2026 Holiday Meet and 2027 Winter/Spring Meet, led by the $777,000 Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3), the $1 million Synthetic Championships, and a new stop on the Road to the Kentucky Derby.
The 18-day Holiday Meet runs Wednesday, Dec. 2 through Wednesday, Dec. 30, with racing expanding to five days a week on a Wednesday-Sunday schedule. The Winter/Spring Meet opens Friday, Jan. 1, with regular racing Wednesday-Saturday through March 27.
First post is 5:55 p.m. (all times Eastern) for most days and Jeff Ruby Steaks Day on Saturday, March 20, will begin at 12:45 p.m. There will be no racing Dec. 24-25, Dec. 27 or Dec. 31.
The Holiday Meet will feature eight stakes worth $1.5 million, led by the third annual Synthetic Championships on Saturday, Dec. 12. The program includes four stakes worth $250,000 each: the Holiday Cheer and Holiday Inaugural at six furlongs, and the My Charmer and Prairie Bayou (Listed) at one mile.
New to the Holiday Meet stakes schedule is the $125,000 Her Last Hurrah for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles on Saturday, Dec. 26. The inaugural running joins the $125,000 Last Hurrah for 3-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles on the same program.
The Holiday Meet stakes schedule also includes the $125,000 Boone County at 1 1/4 miles on Saturday, Dec. 5 and the $125,000 Florence for fillies and mares at the same distance on Saturday, Dec. 19.
Three Kentucky Derby preps and two Kentucky Oaks preps during the Winter/Spring Meet will give horses competing in Northern Kentucky a path to Churchill Downs for the $5 million Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (Grade I) on Saturday, May 1 and the $1.5 million Longines Kentucky Oaks (GI) on Friday, April 30.
The meet's 20 stakes worth $3.977 million include a new addition to the Road to the Kentucky Derby: the $125,000 Leonatus on Saturday, Jan. 16. The one-mile race is part of the Prep Season and will award qualifying points to the top five finishers on a 10-5-3-2-1 scale, giving Turfway Park three Derby qualifying races.
The $175,000 John Battaglia Memorial (Listed), scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 20 at 1 1/16 miles, will offer Derby qualifying points on a 20-10-6-4-2 scale. One night earlier, the $175,000 Cincinnati Trophy at one mile will award Kentucky Oaks points on the same scale.
The 56th running of the $777,000 Jeff Ruby Steaks will anchor the six-stakes program Saturday, March 20. The 1 1/8-mile race is part of the Championship Series on the Road to the Kentucky Derby and will award qualifying points to the top five finishers on a 100-50-25-15-10 scale.
Also scheduled for Jeff Ruby Day are the $300,000 TwinSpires Kentucky Cup Classic (GIII) at 1 1/8 miles; the $300,000 Bourbonette Oaks (Listed) at 1 1/16 miles; the $250,000 Rushaway at 1 1/16 miles; the $250,000 Animal Kingdom at six furlongs; and the $250,000 Latonia (Listed) at 1 1/16 miles. The Bourbonette Oaks will award Kentucky Oaks qualifying points on a 50-25-15-10 scale.
The Holiday Meet condition book is available here: Turfway Park Holiday Meet Condition Book
For the latest information about racing and gaming at Turfway Park, visit Turfway.com.
| Turfway Park Stakes Schedule | ||||||
| Meet | Date | Race | Purse | Age | Distance | Grade |
| 2026 Holiday Meet | Dec. 5, 2026 | Boone County | $125,000 | 3yo & up | 1 1/4 M | BT |
| 2026 Holiday Meet | Dec. 12, 2026 | Holiday Inaugural | $250,000 | F&M, 3yo & up | 6 F | BT |
| 2026 Holiday Meet | Dec. 12, 2026 | My Charmer | $250,000 | F&M, 3yo & up | 1 M | BT |
| 2026 Holiday Meet | Dec. 12, 2026 | Prairie Bayou | $250,000 | 3yo & up | 1 M | Listed |
| 2026 Holiday Meet | Dec. 12, 2026 | Holiday Cheer | $250,000 | 3yo & up | 6 F | BT |
| 2026 Holiday Meet | Dec. 19, 2026 | Florence | $125,000 | F&M, 3yo & up | 1 1/4 M | BT |
| 2026 Holiday Meet | Dec. 26, 2026 | Her Last Hurrah | $125,000 | 3yo fillies | 1 1/16 M | BT |
| 2026 Holiday Meet | Dec. 26, 2026 | Last Hurrah | $125,000 | 3yo | 1 1/8 M | BT |
| 2027 Winter/Spring Meet | Jan. 1, 2027 | Gowell | $125,000 | 3yo fillies | 6 F | BT |
| 2027 Winter/Spring Meet | Jan. 2, 2027 | Turfway Prevue | $125,000 | 3yo | 6 1/2 F | BT |
| 2027 Winter/Spring Meet | Jan. 9, 2027 | Wishing Well | $125,000 | F&M, 4yo & up | 6 1/2 F | BT |
| 2027 Winter/Spring Meet | Jan. 16, 2027 | Leonatus | $125,000 | 3yo | 1 M | BT |
| 2027 Winter/Spring Meet | Jan. 23, 2027 | Likely Exchange | $125,000 | F&M, 4yo & up | 1 M | BT |
| 2027 Winter/Spring Meet | Jan. 30, 2027 | Forego | $125,000 | 4yo & up | 6 1/2 F | BT |
| 2027 Winter/Spring Meet | Feb. 6, 2027 | Valdale | $125,000 | 3yo fillies | 6 1/2 F | BT |
| 2027 Winter/Spring Meet | Feb. 13, 2027 | Dust Commander | $125,000 | 4yo & up | 1 1/16 M | BT |
| 2027 Winter/Spring Meet | Feb. 19, 2027 | Cincinnati Trophy | $175,000 | 3yo fillies | 1 M | BT |
| 2027 Winter/Spring Meet | Feb. 20, 2027 | John Battaglia Memorial | $175,000 | 3yo | 1 1/16 M | Listed |
| 2027 Winter/Spring Meet | Feb. 27, 2027 | Wintergreen | $125,000 | F&M, 4yo & up | 1 M | BT |
| 2027 Winter/Spring Meet | Mar. 6, 2027 | Big Daddy | $125,000 | 4yo & up | 6 F | Listed |
| 2027 Winter/Spring Meet | Mar. 13, 2027 | Queen | $125,000 | F&M, 4yo & up | 6 F | BT |
| 2027 Winter/Spring Meet | Mar. 20, 2027 | TwinSpires Kentucky Cup Classic | $300,000 | 4yo & up | 1 1/8 M | GIII |
| 2027 Winter/Spring Meet | Mar. 20, 2027 | Jeff Ruby Steaks | $777,000 | 3yo | 1 1/8 M | GIII |
| 2027 Winter/Spring Meet | Mar. 20, 2027 | Rushaway | $250,000 | 3yo | 1 1/16 M | BT |
| 2027 Winter/Spring Meet | Mar. 20, 2027 | Bourbonette Oaks | $300,000 | 3yo fillies | 1 1/16 M | Listed |
| 2027 Winter/Spring Meet | Mar. 20, 2027 | Animal Kingdom | $250,000 | 3yo | 6 F | BT |
| 2027 Winter/Spring Meet | Mar. 20, 2027 | Latonia | $250,000 | F&M, 4yo & up | 1 1/16 M | Listed |
| 2027 Winter/Spring Meet | Mar. 27, 2027 | Serena's Song | $125,000 | 3yo fillies | 6 F | BT |
All purses included contributions from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund.
This press release has not been edited by BloodHorse. If there are any questions please contact the organization that produced the release.
