KY Downs Purses Bring Turf Spotlight to Keeneland Sale

Although the lucrative meet at Kentucky Downs has come to an end for 2024, the impact can still be felt in the Keeneland September Yearling Sale ring as prospective buyers begin to search for the horse that can bring home a big payday.

Turf runners are not usually the most appealing for high-dollar bidders dreaming about Kentucky Derby (G1) glory. However, annual increases in purse money thanks to the success of Kentucky's historical horse racing machines have made Kentucky Downs one of the most lucrative meets in the world, especially for Kentucky-bred runners earning bonuses from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund.

"Grass horses are definitely more appealing now," said trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. "With Kentucky Downs' purses, it can make the horse's career. How many horses make a million bucks in one race? It's a huge plus."

Over the course of 76 races, only four during this year's meet offered a total purse (including KTDF bonuses) less than $170,000. Many 2-year-old winners were able to walk away from the meet with more than $100,000 in career earnings in just their first or second career start.

"There's an extra incentive for the turf-bred horse in America," said trainer Jose D'Angelo. "Now people can make plans for Kentucky Downs like, 'I'm going to buy this horse to get his (maiden) victory here.'"

D'Angelo learned first-hand just how valuable a win at Kentucky Downs can be. On Sept. 7, his trainee  Howard Wolowitz  won the Franklin-Simpson Stakes (G1T) in just his fourth start. With the victory, the 3-year-old jumped his career earnings from $38,500 to $1,193,400, easily earning back the $240,000 that Gold Square spent at the 2022 Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale for the horse.

"It was very exciting, we're over the moon still," said Clarkland Farm's Marty Buckner, who bred Howard Wolowitz with Matthew Ernst.

The win was extra thrilling for Buckner and Ernst as just more than a week later Sept. 16, they will bring his half brother, Hip 2024, into the Keeneland sales ring as part of Book 4.

"He's got a lot of quality," Buckner said of the colt. "He's very correct, very pretty. I call it natural muscle, he's really packed. Without the update, you'd be proud to show him. Now with the update, it's even sweeter."

Howard Wolowitz was the second foal and first to race out of the winning Uncle Mo   mare Forget Me Not , who Clarkland picked up for $80,000 at the 2018 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.

"You see a lot of Uncle Mo in her," Buckner said. "That's just a dream come true to have a 9-year-old mare whose second foal is a grade 1 winner. She throws a lot of quality to her foals, a lot of substance."

The colt going through the ring Monday is a son of Taylor Made Stallions' grade 2-winning Instagrand  . Buckner chose the stallion due to the presence of multiple grade 1 winner Lord At War as Instagrand's great-grandfather on the dam side, a relation that he shares with Munnings  , the sire of Howard Wolowitz.

"I've always been a fan of Lord At War," Buckner said. "(Instagrand's sire) Into Mischief is phenomenal. Most of his sons have thrown plenty of winners and quality. I thought Instagrand was a really nice horse, a really good 2-year-old."

For buyers looking for a Kentucky Downs horse to turn a quick profit, the colt fits right up their alley, as would any horse from Clarkland. In total, six horses that were raised at the Lexington area farm started at the Kentucky Downs meet, all performing well.

In addition to Howard Wolowitz, Clarkland raised Brilliant Berti  for the Klein family. On Sept. 8, the son of Noble Mission  picked up an $882,800 check for winning the Gun Runner Stakes.

Clarkland also bred Aug. 29 winners Bedazzle 'Em , winner of $114,000 in an allowance race for Tommy Town Thoroughbreds, and Clock Tower , a 6 1/2-length winner of $102,000 in a 2-year-old maiden special weight for Mrs. Fitriani Hay. Clarkland offers an Authentic   half sister to Clock Tower in Book 4 as Hip 2054.

They also bred Tickin Time Blonde  who earned $34,000 in her debut when second in a maiden race at Kentucky Downs, and Bling , who despite finishing fourth in the Aug. 31 Ladies Turf Sprint Stakes (G2T) still picked up a check worth $71,850. A Nyquist   half brother to the pair, both out of Blonde Bomber , sold for $400,000 Sept. 11 at Keeneland from the breeder's consignment.

For Austin Winfrey of Straight Line Equine Sales, purchasing a horse for Kentucky Downs should be on every buyer's mind not just for the purse money, but the unique experience and hospitality that the track provides owners.

"With all the money they offer and the experience they have (for the owners), I don't know why you wouldn't take a chance to have a horse down there," Winfrey said.

Straight Line brings Hip 1723 to the ring during Book 3 Sept. 15. The colt is a half brother to Irish Aces  (Mshawish ), who picked up a $298,800 check while winning the Tapit Stakes Aug. 29. He was purchased by Pocket Aces Racing for just $40,000 at the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and has now earned $481,247.

"If you saw (Irish Aces) when he ran at Kentucky Downs, I don't think anybody was surprised he did so well," Winfrey said. "(Hip 1723) is a really big, pretty colt. He looks turfy like the rest of his family. The colt speaks for himself."

Bred in Kentucky by Lynch Bages, the son of Tiz the Law   is out of the winning Irish-bred Danehill Dancer mare Nimble Foot , who has produced three winners from three starters. The second dam, Nasanice, produced 10 winners including multiple group stakes winner Maraahel.

"(Nimble Foot) throws big, fast-looking babies like this one," Winfrey said. "It's a killer pedigree, I think this horse has a killer page and he's even better to look at."

2020 Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Tiz the Law, who stands at Coolmore's Ashford Stud, is off to a fast start with his first crop. The four-time grade 1 winner has produced 10 winners from 29 starters with progeny earnings of $1,460,060. As of Sept. 13, he ranked first on the first-crop sire earnings leaderboard.

"I've seen some very impressive (Tiz the Law progeny) in the 2-year-old sales," Winfrey said about his early impressions of the stallion. "The last two weeks, he's really heated up. I think his horses will only get better as 3-year-olds, he's going to be a very exciting stallion."

The son of Constitution   has already produced two stakes winners, including one of the stars of the Kentucky Downs meet, Tiztastic .

On Aug. 29, Tiztastic won a $253,600 allowance race at 6 1/2 furlongs that was restricted to graduates of the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, another bonus for searching the sale grounds for turf horses. The victory, his maiden-breaking performance, earned him $150,000 for owners Winchell Thoroughbreds and the Coolmore team.

Trainer Steve Asmussen wheeled the colt back Sept. 8, winning again in the one-mile Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile Stakes. That victory tallied another $588,300. In 10 days, the colt's career earnings jumped from $4,000 to $742,300, more than doubling the $335,000 purchase price by the time the Keeneland sale came back around.

Available Sept. 14 as part of Book 3 is Tiztastic's full brother, Hip 1232, bred in Kentucky by Capital Bloodstock and consigned by Hunter Valley Farm.

"That just shows (Tiztastic's) durability. I think this colt has similar characteristics," said Hunter Valley managing partner Adrian Regan. "He's very similar to his full brother. He's a good solid horse and I think he'll make somebody a great racehorse."

The unraced Tapit   mare Keesha  has been a strong producer so far. All four of her foals of racing age have found the winner's circle on the track. In addition to Tiztastic, she is the dam of stakes winner and grade 2-placed Interpolate  (Into Mischief  ).

Regan he said he views this colt as being able to handle both surfaces, a positive tribute he sees in progeny of Tiz the Law.

"That's really going to help Tiz the Law down the road. They'll run on both because they're so solid and sound," Regan said. "I think early on they were getting knocked for their size, but they're proving themselves on the track now. They're not overly big, but they all looked very sound, solid horses."

Regan also viewed the increasing popularity of the Kentucky Downs meet as a plus for horses who can run on both surfaces.

"Agents are paying more attention to turf pedigrees and horses that may run on the grass," Regan said. "If a horse could be seen to run on both, I think it does help a lot now."

Bidding at Keeneland has already gone well for the siblings of recent Kentucky Downs stakes winners. On Sept. 11, Belladonna Racing with Cherie DeVaux as agent went to a half-million dollars to purchase an Essential Quality   colt out of the Blame   mare Spanish Star .

Bred in Kentucky by Gilder-Schwarz Farm, Hip 616 is a half to Kilwin , winner of the Sept. 8 Untapable Stakes. Thanks to the victory, she has already earned $630,500 in just two starts, nearly tripling the $225,000 that owner BBN Racing bought her for at the 2023 Keeneland Sale.

Spanish Star also produced One Timer , winner of the 2022 Franklin-Simpson Stakes (G2T) at Kentucky Downs and runner-up in an allowance at this year's meet, a performance that still netted him $44,000.

"She seems to get horses that like those big purses," said Marc McLean, brother of consignor Pope McLean.

"People have noticed it for sure," said Pope McLean. "The production has been pretty phenomenal."

Hip 84, a Not This Time   full brother to Ainsworth Turf Sprint Stakes (G2T) winner Cogburn , also sold for $300,000 in a private sale between consignor Taylor Made Sales Agency and Hartley/DeRenzo.

While many buyers are searching the sales barns for that dirt horse to achieve the Kentucky Derby dream on the first Saturday in May, more and more buyers are starting to plan for late August and early September. With the purses at Kentucky Downs only expected to grow further in the next few years, the meet continues to be a great return on investment for turf yearlings purchased at Keeneland September.