Four Grade II stakes races highlight closing week at Churchill Downs’ 2008 Fall Meet: the $150,000-added Falls City Handicap (fillies and mares at 1 1/8 miles) on Thursday (Thanksgiving Day); the $400,000-added Clark Handicap (3-year-olds and up at 1 1/8 miles) on Friday; and the $150,000-added Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (2-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles) and $150,000-added Golden Rod Stakes (2-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles) on Saturday. The closing day card on Saturday will double as the fourth annual Stars of Tomorrow II, a card entirely devoted to races for rising 2-year-old stars. Two overnight handicaps on turf worth $61,000 apiece will also be run closing day: the open Grand Canyon at 1 1/16 miles and the Caressing for 2-year-old fillies at one mile.
DERBY TICKET DRAWINGS CONTINUE – Over the final four days of the 2008 Fall Meet, Churchill Downs will continue its public daily drawings for guests to purchase two seats to the 135th Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands on Saturday, May 2. More than 400 names (100 each day) will be drawn between Wednesday and Saturday. Guests age 18 and up may enter each drawing by filling out an entry form at Guest Services stations located inside Gate 17 or outside of Gate 10 in the clubhouse before 1:35 p.m. ET. A new drawing will be held each day. Winners need not be present to win and payment for invoiced tickets will be due Jan. 30. The drawings began Saturday and, all told, 500 pairs of tickets, or 1,000 in total, will be made available. The seats available include a variety of clubhouse and grandstand seats, ranging from grandstand bleacher seats to clubhouse boxes. The ticket prices per seat range from $88 to $207 ($176 to $414 per pair).
CURLIN TO BE PARADED ON CLOSING DAY – Curlin, North America’s reigning Horse of the Year and the continent’s richest racehorse of all time with earnings of $10,501,800, will be paraded one final time at Churchill Downs on Saturday. The brilliant winner of seven Grade I events including Churchill Downs’ $1 million Stephen Foster Handicap in June, is scheduled to be paraded on the main track between the fifth and sixth races. A special salute in the paddock and/or winner’s circle will follow. The fifth race is scheduled for 1:28 p.m. (all times Eastern), and the first of 12 races will be at 11:30 a.m.
THIS WEEK’S GUEST ANNOUNCER: MARK JOHNSON – England’s Mark Johnson will describe the closing week’s racing action (Wednesday, Nov. 26 through Saturday, Nov. 29) as Churchill Downs concludes its search to replace the late Luke Kruytbosch as the next “Voice of the Kentucky Derby”. There was a different track announcer each week during the five-week Fall Meet. Calder’s Bobby Neuman, Louisiana Downs’ Travis Stone, Golden Gate’s Michael Wrona and Gulfstream Park and Monmouth Park’s Larry Collmus already made their guest appearances. Churchill Downs officials are seeking input from customers and encouraging comment via email at announcer@kyderby.com.
SPECIAL CLOSING WEEK POST TIMES – Churchill Downs will run its usual 10-race program at 12:40 p.m. ET on Wednesday (admission gates open at 11 a.m. ET), but the final three days of the meet will have special start times. Twelve-race holiday cards on Thursday (Thanksgiving Day), Friday (Clark Handicap Day) and Saturday (Closing Day/Stars of Tomorrow II) will begin early at 11:30 a.m. ET and grandstand admission gates will open at 10 a.m. ET.
CARRYOVER ALERT – There’s a $15,063 carryover in Z-5 (Super Hi-5) for Wednesday’s third race. The wager requires bettors to pick the top five finishers in order. If no one hits the Z-5 (Super Hi-5) in the Wednesday’s third race, it’ll carryover to Race 10. There’s also a $9,031 Pick 6 carryover on Races 5-10.
CARRYOVER ALERT II – There’s a $128,073 Pick 6 carryover on Races 3-8 at Hollywood Park on Wednesday with the third race scheduled to commence at 4:30 p.m. ET.
SPECIAL Z-5 (SUPER HI-5) SCHEDULE FOR CLOSING WEEK – The Z-5 (Super Hi-5), which requires bettors to correctly select the top five finishers in a race in exact order, will have a new schedule for the final three days of Churchill Downs’ 2008 Fall Meet. From Thursday to Saturday, the payout-pumping wager that zigzags between Churchill and its sister racetrack Calder Race Course will involve Race 5 at Churchill Downs (1:27 p.m.), Race 10 at Calder (4:35 p.m.) and Race 12 at Churchill Downs (4:53 p.m.). If no one picks all five winners, the pool would carryover to the next available Z-5 (Super Hi-5) race – the first interstate jackpot of its kind in horse racing. The pool for the final race at Churchill Downs on Saturday must be paid.
ADDITIONAL PICK 4s ON FINAL THREE DAYS – Churchill Downs will offer additional Pick 4s on Thursday, Friday and Saturday’s special 12-race programs. Pick 4s, which require bettors to pick the winners of four consecutive races, will link Races 1-4, 5-8 and 9-12 over the final three days of the meet.
SIMULCASTLAND – In addition to the graded stakes quartet at Churchill Downs, there are 10 other graded stakes races scheduled for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend at Aqueduct and Hollywood Park.
Friday, Nov. 28
Saturday, Nov. 29
Sunday, Nov. 30
THE JOCKEYS – Jockey Julien Leparoux won 12 races last week (Nov. 18-23) from 41 mounts to lead all jockeys and raise his season total to 50, 17 more than Robby Albarado’s 33. With four racing dates left, Leparoux needs five victories to equal Pat Day’s 23-year-old record of 55 victories during the 1985 Fall Meet. Jockeys Jesus Castanon and Kent Desormeaux each won seven races last week. Albarado won six races.
THE TRAINERS – Mike Maker padded his record numbers of Fall Meet wins with five trips to the Churchill Downs winner’s circle last week from 16 starters. He now has 25 wins, five more than Dale Romans’ 20 victories in 2003. Ken McPeek and Dale Romans each saddled four winners. McPeek is second in the standings with 15 wins and Romans is third with 13. Tom Amoss and Dallas Stewart also had a productive week with three wins apiece.
THE OWNERS – Can owners Ken and Sarah Ramsey reach A.J. Foyt Jr.’s record of 27 wins during any Churchill Downs meet? The Nicholasville, Ky. couple already owns the Fall Meet record, which currently stands at 20 (Note: they broke T. Alie Grissom’s 1965 record of 15 wins on Nov. 15). Foyt set his mark during the 1984 Spring Meet, which encompassed 93 days. The Ramseys are well on their way to a 14th owners’ title at Churchill Downs, most in track history. The Ramseys won Spring Meet titles in 2000-04, ’06 and ’08, and Fall Meet titles in 2000-03, ’05 and ’07. Last week, they went 4-for-12 and Maggi Moss went 4-for-5 so the Ramseys maintained their 12-win lead, 20-8. Owners Herman Van Den Broeck and Robert Trussell each won twice last week.
THE HORSES – Eight horses have won twice through the first four weeks of the five-week Fall Meet: Golden Country, House of Usher, Lady On Holiday, Montalvo, Native Ruler, Rose of Aran, Storming Marine and Thousandkissesdeep.
WIN-PERCENTAGE: Trainer Chris Richard has won with four of six starters for a 67% win-clip to lead all trainers with three or more victories. Other high percentage trainers are Wayne Catalano (3-for-7, 43%), Angel Montano Sr. (3-for-7, 43%), Mike Maker (25-for-66, 38%), Ken McPeek (15-for-49, 31%), Bret Calhoun (4-for-12, 33%), Donald Grego (3-for-9, 33%), David Kassen (4-for-12, 33%), Wesley Ward (3-for-9, 33%) and Tom Amoss (5-for-20, 25%). To no one’s surprise, Julien Leparoux leads the jockeys with a 30% win-clip with 50 wins from 169 mounts. Robby Albarado is next (33-for-161, 20%) and is followed by Kent Desormeaux (16-for-89, 18%) and Julio Garcia (14-for-78, 18%).
TURF: Julien Leparoux leads all jockeys with 12 wins over the Matt Winn Turf Course. Robby Albarado has eight victories. Trainer Mike Maker has won with seven of 14 starters on turf. Ken McPeek is 5-for-17.
2-YEAR-OLDS: Robby Albarado leads all jockeys with 15 victories aboard 2-year-olds. Julien Leparoux is next with a dozen wins. Trainer Ken McPeek is 8-for-29 with juveniles to lead all trainers. Dale Romans is 7-for-33. Mike Maker is 5-for-18. Steve Asmussen is 3-for-25. Eddie Kenneally is 3-for-19.
JOCKEY TALK ON SATURDAY – Every Saturday during the Fall Meet, members of Churchill Downs jockey colony will be on hand for a meet and greet with the fans in the paddock area between 11:30 a.m. and noon. This Saturday’s jockeys for “Jockey Talk” will be announced Friday.
JUNIOR JOCKEY CLUB WEEKEND ACTIVITIES – Christmas crafts, a Friday puppet show and a special tour of the paddock on Saturday highlight the closing week activities at Churchill Downs’ Junior Jockey Club located near the Guest Services Booth inside Gate. 10. Coloring books, crayons, individual games and reading material are available as well, and Churchill Downs’ mascot Churchill Charlie will be on hand both Friday and Saturday for photographs between 1-1:30 p.m.
SENIORS DAY ON WEDNESDAY – Wednesday is “Seniors Day” at Churchill Downs. For $19.50, seniors will receive a special Millionaire’s Row Four package that includes admission, a racing program, a reserved seat and lunch. Call (502) 636-4400 for more information.
FRIDAY & SATURDAY SPECIALS AT THE DOWNS – Packages to enjoy a Thanksgiving feast at Churchill Downs are nearly sold out, but specials on Friday and Saturday’s closing day card can still be had. For $50, customers can dine and watch the races from a reserved seat in the Triple Crown room, the largest and most opulent of the Jockey Club Suites facilities. Entrees on the menu include a giant Reuben sandwich, cheeseburger station, chicken tenders, chicken wings, hot dogs and bratwurst. Plus, a Bloody Mar bar will be open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Lunch and an official program is included in the admission price. To reserve a spot, call (502) 636-4400.
WEATHER FORECAST – According to the National Weather Service, Wednesday’s forecast for Louisville calls for sunny skies with a high near 47 and a west wind between 7-10 mph. The forecast for the entire racing week:
