Turfway Park to Offer $5.477 Million in Stakes Purses

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. All purses included contributions from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund.