Next Shares Returns to Kentucky Downs in Tourist Mile

Kentucky Downs' opening day kicks off Aug. 31 with four stakes topped by the featured $750,000 Tourist Mile for 3-year-olds and up.

Next Shares, winner of last year's restricted Old Friends Stakes at Kentucky Downs, returns to the track in the overdrawn Tourist Mile, which is limited to 12 horses. 

Trainer Richard Baltas entered the 6-year-old Archarcharch gelding, who will be making his first start since finishing off the board in the May 4 Old Forester Turf Classic (G1T) on Kentucky Derby Day. After earning his first stakes win in the Old Friends, Next Shares went on to win the Shadwell Turf Mile Stakes (G1T) at Keeneland. He also got his nose in front to win the Jan. 5 San Gabriel Stakes (G2T) at Santa Anita Park in his season debut and then finished seventh in the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes (G1T).

The Conor Murphy-trained Great Wide Open is also slated to contend Saturday's feature. Great Wide Open finished second in last year's Tourist Mile and the Shadwell Turf Mile in his next start. After finishing the year with two wins, the 7-year-old gelding was third in the Colonel E. R. Bradley Handicap in his season debut at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots and comes into the Tourist Mile off two off-the-board efforts in the Fair Grounds Handicap (G3T) and Maker's 46 Mile Stakes (G1T) at Keeneland.

Snapper Sinclair returns to the site of a turf win two years ago in Kentucky Downs' 2-year-old stakes now called the Gainesway Farm Juvenile. The Steve Asmussen trainee finished third in the Aug. 3 West Virginia Governor's Stakes (G3) in his most recent effort and drew the rail for Saturday's turf test.

Hembree—a Kentucky Downs allowance winner last year for the track's winningest trainer, Mike Maker—has been knocking at the door in three stakes this year. He kicked off his season with a score in Gulfstream Park's El Prado Stakes. 

Kicking off the stakes races is the $250,000 One Dreamer Stakes for fillies and mares who have not won a stakes in 2019. 

At a mile and 70 yards, the One Dreamer drew a field of 10, headed by the Brad Cox-trained Limari.

The 4-year-old Medaglia d'Oro  filly won four straight races before finishing third in stakes in her past two starts, including a narrow loss in the 1 1/16-mile Old Forester Mint Julep Stakes (G3T) June 8 at Churchill Downs.

Half of the field comes out of the $98,625 Kentucky Downs Preview Ladies Turf Stakes, with runner-up Classy Act, third-place finisher Smart Emma, and Stave, who went off as the favorite to finish fifth. Valentine Wish, who pressed Classy Act before fading to seventh, also comes back in this race, as well as the Mark Casse-trained Hanalei Moon, who was ninth, beaten just more than fourth lengths. 

Maker will look to win the $500,000 Gainesway Farm Juvenile for the second straight year, saddling Saratoga Race Course debut winner Are You Kitten Me. Maker won the race last year with Henley's Joy, who captured the Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes (G1T) this summer.

George Weaver opted to run Saratoga maiden winner Our Country in Wednesday's With Anticipation (G3T) at the Spa, which will allow for one of three also-eligibles to enter the field of the one-mile Juvenile. 

Night Time comes into the Juvenile off a third-place finish in the Aug. 18 TwinSpires Ellis Park Juvenile Stakes. The Dale Romans trainee won on debut at the end of June going five furlongs on the dirt. 

Casse comes loaded into this year's Kentucky Downs opening weekend and has entered Peace Achieved in the Juvenile. The Declaration of War colt comes in off a 6 3/4-length win at Ellis Park in his third start.

Casse also has Fly So Pretty entered in the $500,000 Exacta Systems Juvenile Fillies Stakes. The daughter of Sky Mesa drew the outside post in the oversubscribed field of 12 and comes into the contest off a hard-fought maiden win Saratoga. 

Winning by a neck, Fly So Pretty was brushed at the start and checked repeatedly before being taken to the outside where she rallied to get up for a neck victory.

"She still has a lot to prove to show how good she is. But she's shown already that she can overcome adversity, and I think that will be a big factor at Kentucky Downs," Casse said. "She was very impressive at Saratoga. She had just a terrible trip and was able to overcome that, and I was impressed by her."

Casse also has Ellis maiden winner Battleofwinterfell in the race.

Among the competition is Romans-trained Lemon Scat and Maker-trained Sunset Promise, who both come in off maiden victories. Well Spent will be making her third start in the Juvenile Fillies, which marks the return of jockey Robby Albarado, who has been out since June due to an injury.