Churchill Downs Fall Meet Begins Oct. 26
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Cooler temperatures and the leaves changing colors signify the return of live horse racing to the Louisville area as Churchill Downs, the historic home of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), opens for its 125th fall meet Oct. 26.
The popular 26-day stand, which covers a five-week stretch through Nov. 30, kicks off with the 10th annual "Stars of Tomorrow I" program entirely devoted to 2-year-olds.
The 10-race opening day program is headlined by a pair of one-mile overnight stakes—the Street Sense (race 4 at 2:06 p.m. ET) and Rags to Riches for fillies (race 9 at 4:44 p.m.). Both races serve as local steppingstones to the Kentucky Jockey Club and Golden Rod for fillies (both gr. II) on the "Stars of Tomorrow II" program Nov. 29.
The successful Stars of Tomorrow programs have helped launch the careers of numerous graded stakes winners, including 33 grade I winners and 19 millionaires.
First post Sunday, as is the case for most of the meeting, is 12:40 p.m. (all times Eastern). The National Weather Service forecast for Louisville calls for ideal fall conditions for the opener: sunny skies with a high near 68.
The fall stand includes 13 stakes races cumulatively worth a little more than $2 million. With a compact 26-day schedule and not as many competing race meets at year's end, the meet traditionally offers larger fields. Last fall, the average field size was 8.84 horses per race, compared to the 7.29 and 7.70 at this year's spring and September meets, respectively.
The anchor of the lucrative stakes program comes Nov. 28 with the 140th running of the $500,000 Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare (gr. I). The 1 1/8-mile test for 3-year-olds and up annually lures some of the top older horses in North America and is one of five stakes events to be contested over Thanksgiving weekend.
After Sunday's opener, live racing will be conducted on a Wednesday-Sunday schedule with dark days on Mondays and Tuesdays. Most race days will begin at 12:40 p.m. ET and feature 10 live races. Eleven-race programs are scheduled for opening day and Nov. 14. Twelve-race cards are scheduled for Nov. 27-29.
Churchill Downs will have special post times for Oct. 31 (Halloween) and Nov. 1 so the races coincide but don't overlap with a simulcast of the Breeders' Cup World Championships from Santa Anita Park. The Friday card will begin at 2 p.m. ET, while the Saturday action will commence at 2:15 p.m. ET. All Breeders' Cup races will be shown between live races on Churchill Downs' Big Board, the world's largest 4K ultra-high definition video board.
The Friday, Nov. 14 program is "Downs After Dark Presented by Stella Artois & Old Forester: Shaken, Not Stirred." It is the lone night racing program of the meet with a first post of 4:30 p.m. ET and a nod to James Bond films.
The only other special post time is an 11:30 a.m. early start for Thanksgiving Day at Churchill Downs. The traditional feast is a Louisville tradition since 1969 where more than 7,000 turkey dinners are served with all the trimmings, the largest number anywhere in the region.
The defending fall meet champs are jockey Corey Lanerie (36 wins), trainer Mike Maker (16), and owners Ken and Sarah Ramsey (18).
Larry Collmus will describe action in his final meet as track announcer at Churchill Downs. In addition to being the voice of the Gulfstream Park winter meet he'll be the NYRA announcer starting in April 2015. While Collmus is attending to Breeders' Cup duties for NBC, Mike Battaglia, the voice of Churchill Downs from 1978-96, will substitute Oct. 29-Nov. 2.