It was a historical running of the 140th Kentucky Oaks
at Churchill Downs on Friday, as 113,071 fans, the
third highest attendance in Oaks history, watched an exciting win by Untapable
and jockey Rosie Napravnik, who pulled away in the final stretch for a 4 1/2-length victory.
Wagering from all-sources was the second-highest all time on both the full
12-race Kentucky Oaks Day card and on the Kentucky Oaks race.
Wagering from all-sources on the full 12-race Kentucky Oaks Day race card
totaled $43.2 million, a decrease of 5.7 percent from the 2013 total of $45.8
million. All-sources wagering on the Kentucky Oaks race dropped 1.9 percent to
$14.1 million from 2013’s record $14.4 million.
On-track wagering on the
Oaks Day race card was the fourth-highest of all-time, coming in at $11.8
million, a 3 percent decrease from 2013’s near-record $12.2 million. On-track
wagering on the Oaks race decreased 3 percent to $3 million from 2013’s record
$3.1 million.
“We had a great day at Churchill Downs Racetrack for the 140th running of the
Kentucky Oaks while we watched Rosie Napravnik claim her second Oaks
win. Over the years the Oaks has continued to attract incredibly talented equine
and human athletes and we saw some of the best in the industry today,” said
Kevin Flanery, president of Churchill Downs Racetrack. “Our congratulations to
the connections of our new Kentucky Oaks champion, Untapable, and to all of the
horse owners, trainers and jockeys who participated in today’s very competitive
racing program.
“Kentucky Oaks has become a premier sports event in its own right and one of the
biggest days in racing thanks to the thousands of fans here at the track and
around the world who showed their support for the quality racing product our
horsemen and racing office assembled by wagering a $43.2 million on the Kentucky
Oaks race card, the second-highest all time. We look forward to (Saturday) for
what we know will be a memorable 140th running of the Kentucky Derby,” Flanery
added.
The 2014 Kentucky Oaks, viewed by a national television audience on the
NBC Sports Network, continued the Pink Out tradition as well as the Survivors
Parade.
As part of the 2014 Pink Out, CDI’s Foundation donated $50,000 to benefit Bright
Pink, the only national non-profit organization focused on the prevention and
early detection of breast and ovarian cancer in young women.
Churchill Downs
also continued a six-year fundraising partnership with Horses and Hope, a breast
cancer outreach program in Kentucky’s horse industry championed by Kentucky
First Lady Jane Beshear. Churchill Downs will donate $1 from each Friday
sale of the Grey Goose Oaks Lily, the official drink of the Kentucky Oaks, to
Horses and Hope.
The parade, which showcased 140 cancer survivors and their co-survivors, paid
special tribute to Tricia Amburgey who was a fixture at the racetrack for more
than two decades and was the inspiration for the track to become actively
involved in breast cancer awareness.
In 2009 Amburgey was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. Although she
eventually lost her battle with cancer this past year at the early age of 42,
the strength and courage she displayed over the past five years serves as an
inspiration and motivation to all.
Over the last six years, the Kentucky Oaks has raised more than $700,000 for
cancer-related charities.
Untapable, a homebred owned by Winchell Thoroughbreds, rolled to a 4 1/2-length
victory in the Kentucky Oaks as the even-money favorite. Napravnik, the only woman to ride a Kentucky Oaks winner in the 140-year history
of the race, won the race for the second time in three years, and trainer Steve
Asmussen scored his second Oaks victory. The Kentucky-bred daughter of
Tapit was the second Kentucky Oaks winner owned and bred by Winchell
Thoroughbreds and returned $4 for a $2 wager.
The winner covered 1 1/8 miles over a fast track in 1:48.68 as she won for the
fifth time in seven career starts and is unbeaten in three races at Churchill
Downs. The Kentucky Oaks winner’s purse of $576,600 increased
Untapable’s career earnings to $1,124,725.
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