@BloodHorse contributor. Seasonal Kentucky Derby website. Treasurer & website adm'r of @NTWAB. Hall of Fame, Eclipse Awards & NTRA weekly poll voter.
Kentucky
Joined January 2011
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Today @BloodHorse
Bettors' claims of fraud, racketeering encounter setback in report of federal magistrate judge. Read more: go.bloodhorse.com/4jzO3AD @DowneyProfile #Handicapping
According to @NYRA, next year's @KentuckyDerby points races at Belmont Park kick off with the Withers going 1 1/6 mile and the Gotham upped from a mile to 1 1/8 mile. Both will be run on the new one-mile Tapeta oval, the exclusive surface for winter racing at the new Belmont Park. Purse for the Gotham increases from $300k to $400k.
Today @BloodHorse
Court of Appeals Rules Against Prediction Market Site go.bloodhorse.com/4hv8Y5b @DowneyProfile #Handicapping
Motions to dismiss have been filed in a lawsuit accusing major players in the racing industry of engaging in racketeering and other unlawful activities related to betting by CAW companies. go.bloodhorse.com/46w31ju @DowneyProfile #Handicapping
The Downey Profile retweeted
.@DowneyProfile's creator Dick Downey, who takes a statistical look at #KyDerby contenders each year, is @KentuckyDownsRacing's defacto statistician & historian. His look at the 2026 meet includes stats such as 10.18 starters per race, one 14-horse race, 26 winners made prior start at Saratoga - and more!
@Alex11Foley @NationalHBPA @CBredar @JoeyDaKRacing @ThePressBoxlts @rwm6893
kyhbpa.org/2026/09/kentucky-…
The Downey Profile retweeted
Have returned to the spot where I observed the lunar eclipse on the night I arrived - the outside rail! My bourbon is strategically aligned beneath my announcing verandah in the distance. A peaceful “hooroo” to a unique place.
The Downey Profile retweeted
.@RacingPost reports that @KyDownsRacing's $2M Ky Turf Cup winner Tiffany will return for the @BreedersCup, probably the Turf rather than the F&M Turf. Why not? She beat last year's Turf winner Ethical Diamond at #KyDowns. Thanks to @rwm6893 for sharing this link!
bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/…
Congratulations to @trainerMMaker Mike Maker on his 100th win @KYDownsRacing. Maker is on a roll today with four wins through the first seven races today. In the seventh, first-time starter Blaring Ambition blasted by the leaders in the stretch to prevail under Flavien Prat, who’s teamed with Maker in three of the trainer’s four wins today.
The trainers' race @KyDownsRacing is tight with one card left. Brad Cox @bradcoxracing (7), Wesley Ward (7) and Mike Maker @trainerMMaker (6) lead in wins. Behind them with 4 wins apiece are Joe Sharp @mjsharp75_joe, Mark Casse @markecasse, and Vickie Oliver.
Entries today: Cox (5 races), Ward (4 races), Maker (9 races w/ two horses in one), Sharp (10 races w/ two horses in four), Casse (4 races w/ two horses in three), Oliver (1 race).
Jose Ortiz @jose93_ortiz (13 wins) and Flavien Prat (10 wins) continue in the lead at @KyDownsRacing heading into the final card. Today's entries show Ortiz on 12 mounts and Prat 11, so anything could happen. Luis Saez @luissaezpty has six wins. Those three also lead in purse earnings: Ortiz ($4,296,737), Saez ($2,406,668) and Prat ($2,378,982). Tyler Gaffalione's @Tyler_Gaff has three wins and a remarkable 10 second-place finishes -- and sits fourth in earnings with $2,135,488.
It's the finale of the 2026 meet, and 14 races are scheduled with first post at 11:30 CT @KYDownsRacing. Feature races today: the Marsh McLennan Bowling Green Gold Cup Invitational, the Pepsi Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile and the Blackwood Dueling Grounds Oaks Invitational. On the hot side today with virtually no chance of rain forecast.
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Early scratches & changes for tomorrow's closing day card 👇
tinyurl.com/yw5n5kce
#KyDowns
The Downey Profile retweeted
.@Michael_Wrona showed up at @KyDownsRacing Sunday morning to learn the six-horse One Dreamer S. had scratched down to three - and then there were two. Hear Michael describe the panic, the preparation and (ultimately) the precision of his call (including some stuff that didn't make the cut) as @KatieRichFarms' May Day Ready prevails over @RepoleStable's Miwa.
@TwinSpires @1st_Racing @CBredar @Jess_Stafford_ @bernier_matt @Alex11Foley @NationalHBPA @ESPN680 @thepressboxLTS @BH_SCollins @Steve_Byk @JoeyDaKRacing @BeardedHandicpr @RadioLouie
youtu.be/RGVSDx46zkI
The horse referenced in my last post (about the Mint Franklin-Simpson Stakes) was Take Charge Star (IRE). At 4-1 odds in the early wagering, Take Charge Star was sent off at 2-1 and got the job done. He's the third European-based horse to win a stakes race today @KYDownsRacing. Jamie Spencer was aboard in the $1.5 million, G2 Franklin-Simpson to take his second straight after riding Hattem in the $2 million, G3 Mint Millions. Johnny Murtagh trains the winner for owner Maribeth Sandford. Take Charge Star, a son of Starspangledbanner (AUS), was bred by the Niarchos Family. The Franklin-Simpson was his second win from nine career starts.