Churchill Downs concludes on strong note

The 2013 Spring Meet at Churchill Downs that began with memorable victories

by Orb in the Kentucky Derby and Princess of Sylmar in the Kentucky Oaks

concluded its successful run on Sunday with highlights that included riveting

performances by Horse of the Year Wise Dan and Breeders' Cup Classic winner Fort

Larned; continued success for the tracks' five-year-old "Downs After Dark"

racing programs; a record-shattering performance by leading owners Ken and Sarah

Ramsey; and a battle for leading trainer that was not settled until the last of

the meet's 395 races had been run.

As the 38-day Spring Meet closed, the track looked ahead to the second of its

trio of 2013 racing meets: the new Homecoming Meet, the first racing meet in the

month of September in the 139-year history of Churchill Downs. The 12-day

Homecoming Meet is set for September 6-29, and the track's traditional Fall Meet

is set for October 27-November 30.

"Despite a few challenges posed by rainy weather, our Spring Meet at

Churchill Downs produced many wonderful experiences, performances and memories,"

said Kevin Flanery, president of Churchill Downs Racetrack. "We thank our fans,

horsemen and employees for working together to make this meet special from

Opening Night, through Kentucky Derby and Oaks Week and on through our closing

weekend. Now we'll get to work on our new Homecoming Meet and the new

experiences and racing opportunities this exciting new meet will provide for our

fans and horsemen."

The Spring Meet, as always, got off to a roaring start with Kentucky Derby

and Oaks Week, six days of racing highlighted by the 139th runnings of the

Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks.

Despite rainy weather, 151,616 fans gathered beneath the historic Twin Spires

on May 4 to cheer as Phipps Stable's and Stuart Janney III's homebred Orb

rallied late to win the Kentucky Derby. The victory was the first for the

owners, who represent two branches of one of racing's most respected families;

trainer Claude "Shug" McGaughey III, a native of Lexington, Kentucky, and

already a member of Thoroughbred racing's Hall of Fame; and jockey Joel Rosario,

a 26-year-old rising superstar who leads North American riders in victories and

earnings at the midpoint of the 2013 racing season.

The wet Kentucky Derby Day weather impacted attendance as a two-year string

of record-setting attendance came to an end, but wagering remained at

near-record levels. Wagering from all-sources on the Kentucky Derby race card

totaled $184.6 million, a decrease of 1 percent from 2012's all-time record,

which totaled $187.0 million. All-sources wagering on the Kentucky Derby race

was down 2 percent from $133.1 million to $130.5 million. But both figures were

the second-highest in Kentucky Derby history.

On-track wagering on the Derby decreased 7 percent from $12.3 million to

$11.5 million, a result of the rain. On-track wagering on the Derby program

decreased 11 percent from $23.7 million to $21.1 million.

One day earlier a Kentucky Oaks crowd of 113,820, the second-largest in

history, cheered King of Prussia Stable's homebred long shot Princess of Sylmar

to an upset victory over a field of three-year-old fillies that many felt to be

the strongest in the 139-year history of the race. Princess of Sylmar was one of

four Oaks fillies saddled for the race by trainer Todd Pletcher, who won the

Oaks for a third time. The victory by the Pennsylvania-bred filly was the first

in the race for both King of Prussia Stable owner Ed Stanco and Hall of Fame

jockey Mike Smith.

The 139th Kentucky Oaks established records for wagering from all sources.

Betting from all sources on the entire 12-race Kentucky Oaks card rose to $45.8

million and was an increase of 14.7 percent from the 2012 total of $39.9

million. All Sources wagering on the Oaks race rose 21.4 percent to $14.4

million. On-track wagering on the Oaks card increased 4.7 percent to a

near-record $12.2 million, and was just $34,000 short of the established record

in 2007. Record on-track wagering on the Oaks race increased 19.2 percent to

$3.1 million.

Other meet highlights included a pair of victories by Mort Fink's reigning

Horse of the Year Wise Dan, who won the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic on

Kentucky Derby Day and returned to win the Firecracker Handicap for trainer

Charlie LoPresti on the meet's closing weekend. Janis Whitham's Fort Larned,

winner of the 2012 Breeders' Cup Classic, returned to form with a dazzling romp

in the Stephen Foster Handicap, where the Ian Wilkes-trainee led from the start

under jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. in a 6 1/4-length triumph and just missed the

track record for 1 1/8 miles with his final clocking of 1:47.45 on a fast track.

The average field for a race during the Spring Meet was 7.78 horses, up from

the 2012 average of 7.74.

Total race purses paid during the meet was $20,327,798, which compared to

$20,890,859 in purses paid during the 2012 Spring Meet. Daily purses over the 38

days of racing averaged $534,942, which compares to a daily purse average of

$549,759 a year earlier.

Business in claiming races was brisk throughout the meet with 271 horses

changing hands in those races for a total of $4,779,500. The claiming activity

generated sales tax revenue of $286,770 for the state of Kentucky.

Human heroes of the 2013 Spring Meet included leading owners Ken and Sarah

Ramsey; riding stars that included leading rider Shaun Bridgmohan, Rosario,

Rosie Napravnik and apprentice Dylan Davis; and trainers Steve Asmussen and Mike

Maker, whose duel for the honor of leading trainer was not settled until the

meet's final race and ended in a tie.

The Ramseys, who own Ramsey Farm in Nicholasville, Kentucky, saw their

red-and-white silks visit the Churchill Downs winner's circle 32 times, which

established a single-season record. Their win total for 38 days of racing was

remarkable in that it surpassed a record established by auto racing legend A.J.

Foyt Jr. in 1984 during a Spring/Summer Meet that lasted 93 days. The leading

owner title for the Ramseys was their record-extending 19th at Churchill Downs.

Four of the Ramseys' wins came in stakes races as they earned their ninth Spring

Meet title and their first since 2009.

Bert, Elaine and Richard Klein finished second in the owner standings with

eight wins.

Bridgmohan led all jockeys in wins with 53 and collected his first Spring

Meet title and second overall. He finished in a tie with Calvin Borel for the

riding crown at the 2006 Fall Meet. A 34-year-old native of Spanish Town,

Jamaica, Bridgmohan is ranked 11th in all-time wins beneath the Twin Spires with

489.

Napravnik, who won the 2012 Kentucky Oaks aboard Believe You Can to become

the first female rider to win that historic race, was runner-up in the race for

leading rider. Her second-place finish was the highest for a female rider at

Churchill Downs and her 45 set a record for victories by a female rider at a

single Churchill Downs meet.

Dylan Davis, the 19-year-old son of semi-retired jockey Robbie Davis, won 16

races and was the meet's leading apprentice rider. His won aboard 26 percent of

his 62 mounts.

Along with his heroics in the Kentucky Derby, Rosario enjoyed spectacular

success at the track as he finished sixth in the meet's jockey standings despite

competing on only six of the meet's 38 days. Rosario rode at the track only

during Kentucky Derby Week and on Stephen Foster Night on June 15, but won 17

races from 46 mounts for a victory rate of 37 percent.

Six of Bridgmohan's victories came in stakes races, while Rosario won five

stakes events and Napravnik took four.

The race for leading trainer came down to the final race of the Spring Meet

when the Ramsey-owned odds-on favorite Buzzin At Midnight won for Maker to give

him 35 wins and a share of the title with Steve Asmussen.

It was the record 12th training title at the home of the Kentucky Derby for

Asmussen, who is ranked fourth in all-time wins at Churchill Downs with 480, and

his sixth at a Spring Meet. He previously was tied with D. Wayne Lukas with 11

titles each.

It was the first Spring Meet title for Maker, who led all trainers at the

2008 Fall Meet and tied with Asmussen at the Fall Meet in 2011. Maker won three

stakes races and tied with Pletcher to lead all trainers in that category.

The wins-per-day rate of 0.92 for Maker and Asmussen over the 38-day session

was the fourth highest at a Spring Meet in Churchill Downs history and the

highest since William Huntley Baker won 15 races over the course of a 13-day

Spring Meet (1.15 wins per day) in 1916.

Despite weather challenges, "Downs After Dark" night racing at Churchill

Downs remained a very popular Spring Meet attraction as four racing programs

under the lights attracted a total of 84,334 fans. Attendance during the

five-year history of "Downs After Dark" surpassed 500,000 level during the

next-to-last night racing celebration on June 22.

Rain and a chilly winds dampened festivities during "Opening Night"

festivities on Saturday, April 27, but 21,038 turned out for the Kentucky Derby

Week opener and the victory by Forty Tales in the Derby Trial. The Stephen

Foster Handicap was accompanied by four stakes races on the June 15 "Downs After

Dark" program that attracted attendance of 23,509. A crowd of 20,034 enjoyed the

nighttime program on June 22, but strong storms that pushed through early in the

program and rain that lingered through the evening on June 29 limited attendance

at the meet's final "Downs After Dark" program to 19,753.

Celebrations held during Kentucky Derby and Oaks Week led to the awarding of

more than $100,000 in charitable contributions on the final day of the Spring

Meet as representatives of the breast cancer outreach organization Horses & Hope

and Louisville's Dare to Care food bank accepted checks for the majority of that

total.

A check for $30,000 was presented to Horses & Hope, an initiative led by

Kentucky First Lady Jane Beshear and a women's health care partner with

Churchill Downs in the celebration of Kentucky Oaks Day for the past five years.

The total represents $1 from each on-track sale on Kentucky Oaks Day of the

"Oaks Lily," the signature drink of the Oaks. With the 2013 donation, Churchill

Downs has donated $150,000 to Horses & Hope during its five-year Kentucky Oaks

partnership.

Dare to Care was the recipient of a the majority of an overall donation of

$72,460 from the fourth annual "Taste of Derby" celebration in the North Wing

Lobby of Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center on Thursday, May 2. The celebration

of racing cuisine, celebrity and style attracted a record 1,500 patrons. CEO

Brian Riendeau accepted a check for $41,260, Dare to Care's share of the overall

"Taste of Derby" donation. The remaining $31,200 in charitable funds generated

by "Taste of Derby" was divided among the event's nearly 20 participating chefs,

who will donate those funds to hunger relief programs in their respective

cities.

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