Churchill Downs Racing Club Headed East for $100,000 Tom Ridge at Presque Isle

May 16, 2019 Kevin Kerstein,Churchill Downs Communications

Churchill Downs Racing Club’s recent Keeneland allowance winner Distant Shore is headed to Presque Isle Downs for Monday’s $100,000 Tom Ridge Stakes, a six-furlong contest over the synthetic track for 3-year-olds.

Trained by Tom Amoss, Distant Shore has not finished worse than fourth in six-career starts and has banked $95,290 in earnings.

“This horse is so much fun to train for all of the club members,” Amoss said. “The Churchill Downs Racing Club gives fans a great look into Thoroughbred ownership through a ($500) club fee and allows them to enjoy the experience. Distant Shore has been great and his career is just starting.

“We looked at this race and thought it could be a good option with the distance and the fact he already ran second over the synthetic at Arlington (in the Arlington Washington Futurity). Presque Isle is also a sister track now to Churchill Downs so we get to keep it within the family.”

The Tom Ridge Stakes is Race 6 with a post time of 7:30 p.m. ET. Distant Shore will break from post No. 5 as the 9-2 morning line favorite in the field of 12.

The Churchill Downs Racing Club, which was inaugurated in the spring of 2016, is a low-cost, low-risk glimpse into the life of Thoroughbred ownership. Gary Palmisano represents the club’s interest and serves as a liaison for the club’s members. Benefits include regular e-mail updates on the horse, visits to the track in the early mornings and breakfast on select days to watch the horse train, trips to the paddock, watching the race in a group setting and hopefully experiencing the thrill of visiting the Woodford Reserve Winners’ Circle. Each member will receive free general admission for two to Churchill Downs in 2019, and invitations to exclusive Churchill Downs Racing Club events at the track

A few spots remain for the 2019 Churchill Downs Racing Club where Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas will train an unraced 2-year-old. Interested parties are invited to register online at www.churchilldowns.com/racingclub.

There are more than 700 Churchill Downs Racing Club members and 60 have moved on to join other Thoroughbred ownership groups, according to Palmisano.