After decisions from the American Graded Stakes Committee last week, Kentucky Downs continued to add to its slate of graded stake. With the Mint Ladies Sprint Stakes (G2T) elevated and Music City Stakes (G3T) for 3-year-old fillies joining the graded ranks, Kentucky Downs now has nine graded stakes for its seven-day all-turf meet.
But track management acknowledged keen disappointment that Kentucky Downs still awaits being awarded its first grade 1 stakes, those designated as the best in America. To lure more grade 1 winners to its stakes program, Kentucky Downs last year committed to increasing the total purse available to $1 million, including Kentucky-bred purse supplements, for any of three stakes if a grade 1 winner competed. That was the carrot that lured grade 1 winners Campanelle and Dalika to the track in Franklin, where they won the Ladies Sprint and Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf (G2T), respectively.
Because they were not Kentucky-breds and ineligible for Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund incentives, purses for those races did not reach $1 million.
"We've done everything expected of us to get one of our grade 2 races across the finish line to grade 1 stature. We put up the purse money, produced the field sizes and got the performances," said Kentucky Downs vice president for racing Ted Nicholson. "That said, we will double down in 2023 in our commitment to getting our stakes to the top. We are determined to be not just a popular destination for American horses, but we are going to step up our efforts to attract overseas horses."
Categories: Kentucky, Rural Lifestyle