FRANKLIN, Ky.— There is one sure bet as Kentucky Downs stages the biggest day in the track’s 31 seasons of racing: trainer Mike Maker will be well-represented.
Maker has won more races than any trainer in track history (75 and counting, including eight so far this meet that gives him a four-win cushion over second-place Wesley Ward). He has started more horses than anyone in track history (436, including 31 so far this meet) and earned more in purses ($10,221,035, fattened by $895,257 so far this meet).
And he entered a total of 17 horses — roughly 10 percent of his stable — for Saturday’s 12-race card that begins with a special 11:30 a.m. Central post time. Including six graded stakes, a total of $6,530,000 in purses is being offered on the day, with Kentucky Downs becoming the only track in America to offer five $1 million races on one card outside the Breeders’ Cup.
“Biggest purses in the country,” Maker said. “We have a lot of grass horses. We’ve done very well here, so it’s obvious why we have as many entries as we have.”
That includes four horses in the track’s signature race, the $1 million, Grade 2 Kentucky Turf Cup: Red Knight, Temple, Keystone Field and Glynn County. Maker sports a record four wins in the 1 1/2-mile race, whose winner earns a fees-paid spot in the $4 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1) on Nov. 5 at Keeneland as part of the Breeders’ Cup’s “Win and You’re In” Challenge Series.
The Kentucky Turf Cup and $1 million, Grade 2 FanDuel Turf Sprint will air live on CNBC from 4-5 p.m. Central.
Red Knight, the 2020 Kentucky Turf Cup runner-up behind two-time winner Arklow, was sent to Maker this year. Off an 11-month layoff, the 8-year-old gelding won his only start for his new barn, taking Virginia’s Colonial Cup.
“He’s a classy old horse that was pretty impressive coming off a year layoff and being able to get the job done at a mile and a half,” Maker said. “He’s probably my best shot. Temple has run well at a mile and three-eighths, just not a mile and a half. But he’s run well here in the past. Glynn County has run well here in the past, too. Keystone Field is doing really well. He’ll be a pace presence. But you don’t know (what to expect) when they’re jumping up in class.”
Maker has had at least two horses running in the Kentucky Turf Cup every year since he ran three in 2013. He has had at least one top-three finish every year dating to 2015.
Maker has another three horses in the $1 million, Grade 3 WinStar Mint Million (post time: 1:45 p.m.) that was rescheduled after being canceled a week earlier due to inclement weather. Atone was entered the first time around, but the additional week encouraged Maker to add 2021 Mint Million runner-up Somelikeithotbrown and millionaire Field Pass to the mix.
Atone is the 3-1 favorite in the Global Tote morning line but awaiting a signature victory. “Hard-luck horse,” Maker said, referencing narrow defeats, “Add a length to his career and it would be pretty huge.”
Maker also has Run Curtis Run in the $600,000, Grade 2 Franklin-Simpson for 3-year-old sprinters and Artemus Citylimits, who drew in off the also-eligible list to run in the FanDuel Turf Sprint, which also is a qualifier for the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1).
“Glad he drew in,” Maker said, adding of Artemus Citylimits’ allowance victories at Belmont and Saratoga, “He’s doing fabulous. His last couple of races were very strong.”
Asked if he finds himself handicapping the skies, Maker said: “I try not to worry about things I have no control over.”
And if it does rain, he says his horses will handle soft turf. “Better than they handle not racing,” he added with a laugh.
The Kentucky Downs record for wins at a meet is the 10 for trainer Wayne Catalano in 2013. Maker, with a record six crowns overall, won the title with nine wins in 2018 and with eight apiece 2015-2017 and in 2020. Last year he tied for the title with four wins.
“He points so many horses here,” said Peter Proscia, Maker’s owner who owns Temple with David Staudacher and Artemus Citylimits with Staudacher and Michael Dubb. “He starts early in the summer to get ready for this meet. And with the big pots, it really is a no-brainer.”
Added Staudacher with a laugh, “He’s got the Maker magic.”
By Jennie Rees – Kentucky Downs Press Release
Main photo: Red Knight wins the Colonial Cup at Colonial Downs on July 27th, 2022 (Coady Photography)
