Churchill Downs concluded the 122nd Fall Meet in its 137-year history on
Sunday, during which rainy weather failed to dim the highlights of a memorable
21-day racing session highlighted by a record eighth visit by the Breeders’ Cup
World Championships, the introduction of a new star in the Grade 1 Clark
Handicap, and a sparkling racing session for Bill Mott, the track’s all-time
leading trainer.
Other highlights of the October 30-November 27 meet included a successful
“Downs After Dark” night racing session on November 18; the track’s first
participation in Movember, a worldwide effort to raise awareness of and research
funding for the effort to find a cure for prostate cancer; and a popular renewal
of the annual Churchill Downs-Kentucky Thoroughbred Association College
Scholarship Day.
While the overall tone of the session was positive, one negative trend
continued as the average size of a race field in 209 Fall Meet races dipped from
9.76 in 2010 to 9.38. The average field size was the lowest for a Fall Meet
since 2002, when fields averaged 9.39 horses per race during a 30-day racing
session.
While that average field size, fueled in part by Churchill Downs’ strong
program of two-year-old racing in the fall, remained competitive with other
major tracks that operated during the same time period, track officials viewed
the decline as a sign of continued pressure from other racing markets that offer
racing purses fortified by revenues from casino wagering, which this fall
included New York tracks for the first time.
“We sincerely thank all of the fans who ventured to Churchill Downs to enjoy
our Fall Meet beneath the Twin Spires and those who supported our racing program
in simulcast centers throughout North America and via TwinSpires.com and other
advance deposit wagering platforms,” said Kevin Flanery, president of Churchill
Downs Racetrack.
“The record eighth visit by the Breeders’ Cup World Championships was a
success by any measure; our stakes schedule, daily races and two-year-old racing
program were strong and our special events combined for a memorable meet that
generated many smiles throughout its 21 days.
“While the tone of the meet was largely positive, the decline in the size of
the average field of horses competing in our more than 200 races is a clear
reason for concern. While many factors contribute to the success of a racing
program, strong and competitive purses are at the top of that list.
“Churchill Downs faces growing competitive pressures from tracks in other
racing dates that offer purses fattened by casino and other gaming revenues, a
group of competitors that grew when the first racetrack casino to support a New
York Racing Association (NYRA) track opened in late October at Aqueduct.
“We sincerely thank the owners, trainers and the all-star jockey colony that
participated in our Fall Meet and supported Churchill Downs racing throughout
the year. We know you have other options for your stables and we look forward to
working with you again in our 2012 Spring Meet.”
The 2012 Fall Meet got off to a rousing start with the Breeders’ Cup World
Championships, the event’s first stop at Churchill Downs in consecutive years
and its second visit in its two-day format.
Total attendance over two days of Breeders’ Cup racing was 105,820, down from
last year’s record at Churchill Downs of 114,353. All-sources betting on a
record 15 races, capped by the upset victory by WinStar Farm’s Drosselmeyer in
the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic, was $155,525,947, second only to last
year’s record total betting $163,619,784 on the first two-day Breeders’ Cup at
Churchill Downs.
Hall of Famer Mott, the all-time leader in victories and stakes wins at
Churchill Downs, enjoyed a successful Fall Meet that included Breeders’ Cup wins
with Drosselmeyer and Royal Delta, who took the $2 million Ladies’ Classic.
Mott added two more local stakes victories with a Thanksgiving Day win by
Carolyn Wilson’s Arena Elvira in the Grade 2 Falls City Handicap and a win by
Juddmonte Farm’s Deluxe in the Grade 3 Cardinal on turf. Mott ended the meet
with a record of nine wins from 22 starters and his career win total stood at
658, a number that includes 84 stakes victories.
A star-making performance by Mort Fink’s Wise Dan in the Clark topped a list
of impressive stakes performances meet. Trainer Charlie Lopresti’s four-year-old
gelding stamped himself a horse-to-watch in 2012 with his emphatic four-length
victory under jockey John Velazquez. The versatile Wise Dan had earlier won
Churchill Downs’ Grade 2 Firecracker Handicap in his debut on turf, and also
notched a pair of stakes wins over synthetic surfaces.
Other stakes highlights of the fall included exciting efforts by young stars
in races for two-year-olds during the meet’s pair of Stars of Tomorrow racing
programs. The 85th running of the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club included
impressive runs by its top three finishers — WinStar Farm’s Gemologist, a
two-time winner during the meet; Augustin Stable’s Ever So Lucky and A. Stevens
Miles Jr.’s Timely Tally — that indicated Kentucky Derby potential. And Anita
Cauley’s homebred On Fire Baby dominated the 68th running of the Grade 2 Golden
Rod for veteran local trainer Gary Hartlage and jockey Joe Johnson. The daughter
of Smoke Glacken had won the Grade 2 Pocahontas on Stars of Tomorrow I, and her
sweep of the fall stakes races for two-year-old fillies was the seventh in track
history.
Other notable stakes performances include an easy victory by Glen Hill Farm’s
Marketing Mix in the Grade 2 Mrs. Revere for three-year-old fillies on
turf and a pair of stakes triumphs for trainer Eddie Kenneally with Avalon
Farm’s Buckleupbuttercup in the Grade 2 Chilukki and Anstu Stables’ veteran
Blues Street in the Grade 3 River City Handicap on turf. Lothenbach Stable’s
four-year-old Mister Marti Gras rallied to take the Grade 3 Ack Ack Handicap and
Sagamore Farm’s Hunble and Hungry took the Grade 3 Commonwealth Turf for
three-year-olds. A win by Lantern Hill Farm’s Motor City in the Grade 3 Iroquois
and On Fire Baby’s Pocahontas, both on the opening day Stars of Tomorrow I card
on October 30, launched the meet’s stakes races.
Winners of the Fall Meet’s “human races” were familiar faces. Ken and
Sarah Ramsey, the all-time leaders in wins by an owner at Churchill Downs, won
12 races and a record 10th Fall Meet “leading owner” title. The Ramseys, who own
18 local titles overall, turned back runners-up Billy, Donna and Justin Hays.
Jockey Julien Leparoux earned his fifth consecutive Fall Meet “leading rider”
crown by holding off runner-up Corey Lanerie by a 34-27 margin. The native
Frenchman owns nine Churchill Downs titles overall.
The nip-and-tuck battle for “leading trainer” honors between Mike Maker and
Steve Asmussen during the final days of the meet ended in a dead-heat. Asmussen
won one race on the meet’s final day to tie Maker at 15 victories and gained a
share of the title. Each had a last-chance horse in the 10TH race, but the
Maker-trained Twinspired finished second and Asmussen was fourth with Joes
Blazing Aaron. With his share of the title, Asmussen swept Churchill Downs’
Spring and Fall Meet training crowns for the third consecutive year and has won
or shared 11 Churchill Downs titles overall. Maker’s lone previous title came in
the 2008 Fall Meet.
Individual milestones reached during 21 racing days included the 650th career
victory for Mott, which came in a win by James Karp’s Anecdote in the 8TH race
on November 2. Asmussen become the fifth trainer in U.S. racing to win 6,000
races, and earned that win on his 46th birthday with a two-year-old named Basalt
on November 18 at Remington Park. He had scored his 5,999th win a short time
earlier with Dr. Rodney Orr’s Grinning Gang in Churchill Downs’ 3RD race. Jockey
Jon Court earned his 400th Churchill Downs win aboard Bluegrass Hall LLC’s Red
Jack in the 6TH race on Saturday. Lanerie notched his 300th victory beneath the
Twin Spires on November 6 with a win aboard Clover Towne Farm’s Taptowne in the
9TH race.
The first “Movember” celebration was a meet-long highlight, as male members
of the Churchill Downs Racetrack team, headed by Flanery, were joined by Ray
Paulick, publisher of The Paulick Report, to grow mustaches in support of
the prostate cancer awareness effort. Throughout the Fall Meet patrons could
purchase Movember mustaches for $1, with all proceeds going to the Movember
effort. A signature drink dubbed the “Fu Manchu-rita” was sold during the meet,
and $1 from the purchase of each drink was donated to the Movember effort. The “Stache
Bash” celebration that closed out the Churchill Downs Movember on Saturday,
honored Tim Greener of Louisville, who was honored through an online contest as
the track’s first “Man of Movember.” Greener, a prostate cancer survivor
who was first diagnosed in 2009, spent a day at the races in Millionaire’s Row
and received “Stache Bash Swag Bag” as part of the festivities.
The annual “College Scholarship Day” on November 11 again proved popular with
college students throughout the region. Full-time students were admitted free
and drawings for $1,000 scholarships were held after each of the day’s 10 races.
The day concluded with a paddock concert by Grammy nominee David Nail.
Churchill Downs employees again opened their hearts and wallets to join
volunteers from The Lord’s Kitchen for the annual “Thanksgiving Family Food Box
Giveaway” last Tuesday. Some 600 frozen turkeys and boxes filled with
non-perishable foods were distributed to needy families from neighborhoods near
the track. Many employees donated food items and assembled and stocked boxes on
the eve of the event.
Racing returns to Churchill Downs on Saturday, April 28, 2012. The 138th
Kentucky Derby will be run a week later on May 5.