Via TD Thornton
The Turfway Park Wallet for Women’s Special Weightlifting (MSW) races is projected to grow to $70,000 for dual end meetups that will run from November 30, 2022 through. April 1, 2023.
Chip Bach, general manager of Turfway, reported the forecast during the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund (KTDF) advisory board meeting on September 28. He also revealed that the winter race venue is being rebuilt. Kentucky’s recent – with new stands and updated stability – will change Saturday’s posting times from early evening to afternoon this season.
Bach said Turfway will deposit 24 total deposits of $4.35 million into wallets during the holiday (19 days from 30 November to 31 December) and winter/spring (48 days from 1 January). until April 1st).
The race for Turfway’s signature, GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks S., will see an increase in purses from $600,000 to $700,000, Bach said, noting that management “not only adds shares, but we put a little more meat in the bones for those stakes, too. “
Night racing will remain a staple at Turfway on Wednesdays through Fridays, with an expected first posting time of 6:15 p.m., Bach said. Afternoon posting times for Saturdays are listed as 12:45pm on Turfway’s website.
Rick Hiles, president of the Kentucky Riders’ Benevolent and Protective Association, expressed a minor quibble with the timing of the first races on the evening cards. 5:30pm, he said, has been used in previous years, which works much better for both patrons “and horse riders, especially in inclement weather.”
Bach promised that he would consider a possible change until 5:30 pm. But he added that “The turn has changed. I can’t base it on what happened six or seven years ago, because we had some really tough races going on there. We were actually getting killed in those first two races, going against a lot of the tracks that were going on at the time.”
However, Bach also says that Turfway’s track quality has evolved to the point where it can better stand up to competitors in that tight bridge simulation window.
“I think our product, right now, is going to be very good,” Bach said. “Again, that’s why we go into Saturday afternoons. We feel we can compete. It will take a while to win back some of the handicaps out there that aren’t used to seeing us during the day. But I think we have a great chance to get back to the way it was.”
Last season, Turfway paid out $62,000 in MSW wallets. Dual meetings were underway with temporary roadside amenities as the years-long stand rebuild nears completion.
Last season 2020-21, Turfway paid only $32,000 for MSW races, and the dual meetup has been badly damaged by both the COVID-19 pandemic and the first stages of grandstand rebuilding. The northern Kentucky grandstand is closed to spectators.
During the 2019-20 season, Turfway paid MSW in the $46,000-$48,000 range.
Separately, Austin Schmitt, vice president of finance for Churchill Downs Racecourse, told KTDF board members that during his track’s November meeting, “Our budget for each the same type of race is planned as we will do in September, so [MSW races] is about $120,000. “
