Frankie Detttori, left, received his Kentucky Downs riding title award from legendary jockey Eddie Delahoussaye. (Coady Media)
by Jennie Rees
FRANKLIN, Ky. — Frankie Dettori earned his first riding title in America, finishing Kentucky Downs’ seven-day meet Wednesday with nine wins, one more than Irad Ortiz Jr. Brad Cox earned his first Kentucky Downs training title with eight wins, and Godolphin LLC won its second owner’s crown with four.
“I know I’ve only been here two meets, but last year I had eight winners, and I was second,” Dettori said. “This year I had nine. I had a great meet. I don’t think I left too many races that I should have won behind. I had great support by everyone, the trainers and owners. I really enjoy this place because it’s very similar to European racing.
“What can I say? I’m super proud. I’m 54, to win a meet in America at my age is still quite an achievement. I still have to take it all in and relive the moment — and hopefully come back next year and defend my title.”
Dettori won the eighth race on Quereme Pass ($23.82) to pull one ahead of Ortiz, who tied for the title last year with Tyler Gaffalione with nine wins apiece. For the second straight year, Dettori won the meet’s richest race, with British invader Wimbledon Hawkeye taking the $3.5 million Nashville Derby (G3).
Cox won two races Wednesday, capped by the featured $2 million Blackwood Dueling Grounds Oaks Invitational (G3) with favored Fionn. Mike Maker, Kentucky Downs’ all-time win leader, finished second with six victories, including the $2.5 million KTDF Kentucky Turf Cup (G2) with Ole Crazy Bone extending his record to six wins in the 1 1/2-mile stakes.
Kentucky Downs is the only Kentucky track where Cox had not won a title. He also was the only trainer at the 2025 meet to win two stakes, taking the $2 million Light & Wonder Ladies Marathon (G3) with Stellify on Sept. 6.
“I found myself with several turf horses, and thought to myself a while back, ‘We need to try to take advantage of running them here with the money and the improvements they make each year,’” Cox said after receiving his trainer trophy. “It’s a desirable place to run, and Kentucky is thriving right now, and I’m just glad to be a part of it and happy to call it home.”
Godolphin finished with five wins and a second in 12 starts. No other ownership entity had more than two wins. (George Messina and Michael Lee, owners of Fionn, also own two-time meet winner Stellify in partnership with Steve Smith’s Elements Racing.)
Sheikh Mohammed’s global racing and breeding operation also won the 2021 Kentucky Downs title with four wins. Godolphin has won four of the five Kentucky-circuit meet titles so far in 2025, also taking Ellis Park, Churchill Downs’ spring meet and Turfway’s winter meet.
“This is a great one to win. We love coming down here, we love competing down here,” Michael Banahan, Godolphin’s director of bloodstock, said Sunday after Godolphin’s Quiet Street won the $1 million Untapable Stakes. “We’re very fortunate that we’ve had some horses run well. We had a couple of disappointing ones, but we’ve run well overall. Another one was a stride away from winning. But to win one of the big ones down here on top of our other winners is very nice to do.”A total of 26 horses ran twice at the meet, including three that went 2-for-2: Stellify (who also won an opening-day allowance race), $1 million Global Tote Juvenile Mile winner Street Beast (winner of an opening-day allowance) and Quatrocento, winner of an Aug. 31 allowance, drew in off the also-eligible list to win another allowance race Wednesday.
