Kentucky Downs finds success with full fields, racing machines

One of the main issues I hear from horseplayers is small field size. Five- and six-horse fields might be good for trainers to keep their win percentage high, but that does not cut it with horseplayers, who consider it a bad product on which to bet.

If simulcast players want full fields to bet, let me suggest Kentucky Downs in Franklin, Kentucky. The track races only five days, but on opening day on Saturday, 189 horses were entered in 10 races. That is not a misprint.

Horses go where the money is. The Kentucky Downs condition book is full of cash for horsemen. It includes purses of $130,000 for maiden special weights and $140,000 for first-level allowance horses. That is insane.

I was working as the publicity director at Turfway Park when the track opened as Dueling Grounds near the Kentucky and Tennessee border. It seemed like a good idea at the time. They even carded a $750,000 steeplechase stakes that first season.

One thing to remember was the simulcast market in 1990 was not as robust as it is today. And Franklin is at least 50 miles from cities such as Nashville, Tennessee; Louisville, Kentucky; or Evansville, Indiana. Despite having a wobbly start, the track now is on sturdy legs thanks to owners Corey Johnson and Ray Reid, who bought it in 2007.

In 2011, Kentucky Downs got permission from the Kentucky Horse Racing commission to install Instant Racing machines. They are not slot machines per se, but historical horse racing units that players can bet on past results.

The purse account has swelled to where more than $7 million will be paid out for the five-day meet this year. But that alone is not the sole reason for its success.

Kentucky Downs officials have lowered takeout and fine-tuned their betting menu to earn the top ranking of the Horseplayers Association of North America for the past few years. Rather than pooh-pooh the HANA rankings, Kentucky Downs has used HANA as a sounding board for what horseplayers want.

It seems like a common sense business approach. But look at a state such as Pennsylvania. Its slot machine profits that pour into purses have not had the desired result in improving day-to-day racing. Plus, the takeout for tracks such as Parx, Penn National and Presque Isle Downs are among the worst in the country.

It seems like these tracks would rather see the horse racing product fail. In that way, they could keep the casino side going full bore without the so-called drag of conducting live racing.

Kentucky Downs will be open for three more days — Saturday, Sunday and Thursday. You will be fascinated by the European-style turf racing. The turf course is a 1 5/16-mile kidney-shaped course with slight undulations. If a horse isn’t dead fit, it isn’t winning. There is no dirt racing, either.

No lead is safe at Kentucky Downs. The stretch seems to go on forever, so it’s important for a jockey to save some horse for the final furlong. Favorites historically do not do well there, which should make simulcast horseplayers happy.

Richard Eng’s horse racing column is published Friday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. You can buy his Santa Anita picks starting Sept. 30 at www.racedaylasvegas.com. You can email him at rich_eng@hotmail.com and follow him on Twitter @richeng4propick.