Horses offered at auction during the upcoming Keeneland September Yearling Sale will be eligible to run in a pair of $250,000 allowance races at the 2022 FanDuel Meet at Kentucky Downs.
Kentucky Downs will stage one $250,000 allowance race for 2-year-old fillies and one for 2-year-old colts and geldings restricted to horses that go through the sales ring at this year's Keeneland September Sale. Yearlings that are sold as well as those not reaching their reserve bid will be eligible for the lucrative allowance events the following September at Kentucky Downs.
“This innovative venture between Keeneland and Kentucky Downs is a win/win, rewarding those horsemen who buy yearlings at the September Sale with lucrative racing opportunities while enhancing Kentucky's racing circuit,” Keeneland Vice President of Racing Gatewood Bell said. “It is an investment very much in keeping with Keeneland's mission to strengthen the sport of racing, and an example of how collaboration among racing entities benefits our industry.”
“Every meet, owners tell us after winning a race that now they have more money for the Keeneland September Yearling sale,” said Ted Nicholson, Kentucky Downs' Vice President for Racing. “This is just another incentive to keep those sales horses in Kentucky or to bring them back to the state to race. This should also help breeders and consignors of yearlings with turf pedigrees, giving potential owners extra reason to buy a grass horse.”
Funding will come out of the Kentucky Downs' horsemen's purse account under an agreement with the Kentucky Horsemen's Benevolent & Protective Association, which represents owners and trainers at the commonwealth's five Thoroughbred racetracks.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
