Kentucky Downs Posts Record Handle, Purses

As live racing came to a close Saturday, Sept. 19 on a record-breaking five-day meet, Kentucky Downs announced the meet's divisional leaders, record handle, and record total purses.

Mike Maker, who scored in three consecutive races Saturday, was named top trainer, while jockey Florent Geroux was the leading rider with 12 victories for the five-day meet. Ken and Sarah Ramsey, who captured two races on the Sept. 19 card, were named leading owners.

"As a rider, I'd like to thank the Kentucky Downs management for keeping the turf course in such good condition," Geroux said. "Obviously they had some weather issues, but they did a fantastic job keeping it in great shape. It's always a pleasure to get to ride at such a unique race course."

Geroux and the horsemen weren't the only ones pleased, as horseplayers helped catapult the track to a record handle of $16,887,188. The increase of more than 6% from 2014 was achieved despite running two fewer races and moving an entire Saturday card to a Monday.

According to Jockey Club Information Services, Kentucky Downs paid out $6,563,857 in purses, up 38.3% from last year. This year's average daily purses improved 38.3% to $1,312,771. 

"We would like to thank the horsemen and the horseplayers," said Kentucky Downs' live racing manger C.J. Johnsen. "This meet showcased some of the best turf racing in the country. I was especially impressed with the contingent of 2-year-olds that ran here. The maiden, allowance level, and stakes races for that age were some of the deepest and most competitive of the meet. We had horses from all over North America that pointed to our meet which showed the improved quality of our course. Our track crew, headed by track superintendent Ron Moore, deserves all the credit. They worked tirelessly to prepare the course for the meet and when the weather came, they worked harder to make sure it was safe for the horses and the jockeys."