Turfway Park

You've all heard this song before, I'm sure, but humor me. I was co-owner of a horse who was running at Turfway Park last week. So I sent the requisite information to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission to get licensed in the state before the horse ran Dec. 31. In speaking with a woman in the office, I was asked if I wanted to get a one-year or two-year license. Since I don't often run horses, I decided on the shorter option only to be told my "one-year" license would...

Jockey Robby Albarado, a winner of more than 5,000 races and the regular rider of Hall of Famer Curlin, has decided to retire. The 48-year-old rider will end his career Saturday at Turfway Park, where he has a mount in the seventh race. The news of his retirement was first reported by Daily Racing Form's Marty McGee. "It's time," Albarado told DRF. "I've been thinking about this for quite a while now." Albarado told McGee that he plans on becoming a jockey agent next year. Albarado started out at the...

An impasse whose origin dates back more than two years that has prevented Nevada race books from taking betting on three simulcasting signals controlled by Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI), was reportedly resolved on Wednesday, although it remains unclear which side budged or what changed in the negotiations. Mike Brunker of the Las Vegas Review-Journal broke the story Dec. 1. Three signed contracts for the Fair Grounds, Turfway Park and Oaklawn Park that were suddenly offered by CDI were inked into agreement on Wednesday by the Nevada Pari-Mutuel Association, which represents...

Kentucky's live racing schedule for 2022 will largely mirror this season's template of race dates according to a calendar approved Tuesday by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. The following three tweaks stand out from 2021: 1) Churchill Downs will race through July 4 instead of closing in late June; 2) Kentucky Downs was granted a seventh racing date, up from six; 3) Keeneland Race Course will host the Breeders' Cup the first Friday and Saturday in November, directly book-ended by live racing at Churchill on the dates right before and...

Turfway Park executives are projecting purses for maiden special weight (MSW) races to nearly double to about $60,000 for the upcoming dual meets that will be run December through March. Last season, Turfway paid out just $32,000 for MSW races while conducting meets heavily compromised by both the COVID-19 pandemic and a massive grandstand rebuild that kept the northern Kentucky oval closed to on-track spectators. Turfway's 2021-22 MSW purse projection was disclosed Tuesday during a Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund (KTDF) advisory board meeting by Tyler Picklesimer, the track's director of...

   Gray horses have been in a GI Kentucky Derby rut the past 15 years. No fewer than 31 consecutive grays (or roans) have gone to post without winning on the first Saturday in May (or September) since Giacomo roared home in front at 50-1 in 2005. That's the longest Derby drought for grays in terms of consecutive starts since 1930, when Churchill Downs began compiling detailed records related to horse colors. There's an asterisk as to whether it's the longest stretch in terms of years. There was a 17-year...

Although he stopped short of saying that a surface change at Charles Town Races might soon be mandated by state racing regulators, West Virginia Racing Commission (WVRC) chairman Ken Lowe Jr. made it clear during Tuesday's meeting that he will be advocating for a synthetic surface to replace the traditional dirt that comprises the track's six-furlong oval. Lowe's Apr. 20 comments came against the backdrop of 11 equine fatalities at Charles Town so far in 2021. The track is closed for racing Wednesday through Saturday this week to perform maintenance...

The Week in Review by T.D. Thornton In theory, state racing commissions are supposed to provide a layer of checks and balances by making both racetrack operators and horsemen accountable for their actions. In practice though, that often doesn't happen because regulators in many jurisdictions fail to ask probing questions of licensees during open, public meetings. In Kentucky, for example, if you want the most concise on-the-record snapshot of what's going on with the circuit, the best source generally isn't a Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) meeting. Instead, the proceedings...

Floroplus (City Zip), a Turfway Park-based gelding who won three straight races in March, has been disqualified for the second of those victories after post-race testing revealed a 3-hydroxylidocaine (lidocaine) positive. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has voided the win and redistributed purse money for the Mar. 18 victory by Floroplus in an $18,000 claiming sprint. Trainer Kim Hammond has been penalized with a $500 fine and a 30-day suspension, 15 days of which will be stayed because of "mitigating circumstances (number of violations in relation to overall record)." The...

Purse levels for maiden special weight (MSW) races on the Kentucky circuit are projected to push past the $100,000 mark both during GI Kentucky Derby week at Churchill Downs and in September at the Kentucky Downs all-turf meet. In addition, Kentucky Downs plans to expand its stakes program to include two new $1 million races in 2021, giving the venue a total of three stakes at that level. (Read more details here). Ben Huffman, the director of racing at Churchill Downs, confirmed during a video meeting of the Kentucky Thoroughbred...

A stout 36.5% increase of all sources handle, along with a rise in starters per race, topped Turfway Park's 38-day Winter/Spring meet that opened Jan 1. and concluded Saturday. Turfway Park's meet saw overall handle grow to $81.7 million, a $21.9-million increase from 2020. All sources handle per day was up 32.9%. The average field size topped 9.8 horses per race compared to 2020's 9.7 starters per race. "We can't thank our owners, trainers, jockeys and horseplayers enough for supporting our meet," Turfway Park's General Manager Chip Bach said. "Our...

Adventuring opened her career with three off-turf races at Fair Grounds, most recently romping to a 6 1/2-length maiden score going one mile and 70 yards in New Orleans Feb. 16. Moving to the synthetic for this stakes debut, the bay filly was well off the pace set by the loose-on-the-lead Spritz. She made eye-catching progress on the far turn and stormed to the lead into the stretch, momentarily drifting out as the pacesetter fought back along the rail, but Adenturing powered clear once righted for a confident tally. Adventuring...