Maker's Turf-Heavy Stable Suited to Kentucky Downs

Mike Maker had no idea what percentage of his career success was on grass, just that it was a lot. So here are some numbers:

He is Kentucky Downs' all-time winningest trainer, getting his 80th victory when he won the Aug. 31 opener with the 2-year-old first-time starter Buttercream Babe . Heading into the day, Maker had 1,277 career victories over the last five years—with 726 coming on turf for 57%, according to Brisnet statistics. To put that in perspective, turf races accounted for 14% of all racing in the United States and Canada in 2022: Of the 37,730 races overall held on dirt, turf and synthetic surfaces last season, only 5,442 were on the grass, according to The Jockey Cub.

Since he began training full-time in 2003, Maker has won 1,411 turf races—or 44% of his 3,204 victories during that span through Aug. 30.

Of Maker's $155.8 million in career purse earnings since 2003, $86 million—or 55%—have been on turf. Of his 406 stakes wins, 231 have been on turf during that span. That includes 75 graded-stakes victories on turf out of his overall total of 121 on all surfaces.

His reaction? "Means I've got a very unbalanced stable," Maker said with a laugh.

An imbalance that has served him very well, no place more so than the FanDuel Meet at Kentucky Downs, where last year his horses set records for a single meet with 12 wins and more than $2.3 million purse earnings. 

"I have a lot of fond memories there every year—and looking to add to it," he said. 

After running six horses Thursday, he has more than a dozen horses entered this weekend. During the meet, he will shoot for repeats in two of the meet's biggest stakes: Saturday's $2 million Mint Millions (G3T) and the $1.7 million FanDuel Kentucky Turf Cup (G2T). Maker finished 1-2 in the Mint Million last year with Somelikeithotbrown  and Atone . The New York-bred Somelikeithotbrown—who only ran in the Mint Million last year because it wound up being delayed a week—is sitting it out this year, but runner-up Atone is back.

The 6-year-old Atone took Gulfstream Park's Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1T) early in the year. This summer, after a 2 1/2-month break, Atone pressed the pace in Colonial Downs' 1 1/4-mile Arlington Million (G1T) before tiring to 11th.

"Hopefully the cutback in distance will do the trick," Maker said.

Maker also is running minor stakes-winner Max K. O.  in the Mint Millions. He'll be a long shot, having finished sixth in the Ellis Park prep, but lost by only three lengths. His credential is that he is 2 for 2 at Kentucky Downs, albeit against allowance and starter-allowance company.

"He's a horse for the course, likes the one turn," Maker said. 

Red Knight returns at age 9 to defend last year's Kentucky Turf Cup at 1 1/2 miles. Three races ago he earned his first top-level victory in Belmont Park's Man o' War Stakes (G1T). In his last start, Red Knight rallied to finish a good third in Monmouth Park's United Nations Stakes (G1T), a race Maker won as with stablemate Therapist.

Maker routinely runs multiple horses in the Kentucky Turf Cup, a race he has won a record five times since 2015. He also plans to run 10-time winner Me and Mr. C , who earned a fees-paid spot in the stakes by virtue of victory in Ellis Park's $250,000 Kentucky Downs Preview Turf Cup.

"We're running at least three and maybe four," he said.