Cumberland Run opener shows off KY growth

CORBIN, Ky. (Friday, Oct. 11, 2024) — Cumberland Run’s opening harness racing card Sunday features 14 Kentucky Sires Stakes races for 2-year-old trotters and paces. That the track had so many young Kentucky horses to fill the entire race program shows the resurgence of Kentucky’s standardbred circuit.

The commonwealth’s third standardbred track, Cumberland Run races Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays starting this Sunday through Tuesday Nov. 5. First post is 1 p.m. with free admission and parking.

Cumberland Run’s purses are increasing from $110,000 a day for overnight races to a $121,000 daily average. Those numbers don’t include the Kentucky Sires Stakes, whose finals have increased from $70,000 to $100,000 each. The legs leading to the final have jumped to $40,000 apiece for 2- and 3-year-olds, and to $50,000 for 4-year-olds.

The Kentucky Sires Stakes program, administered by the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation, is the fulcrum for the industry’s growth. Cumberland Run’s opening card celebrates that, with all 14 races being Sires Stakes for 2-year-olds. Purse money that day will total $560,000.

The increases “give owners and trainers a chance to make money and to go out and buy more yearlings,” said Jim Avritt Jr., president of the Kentucky Harness Horsemen’s Association. He called the Kentucky sires stakes program “the most lucrative” in the country.

“That means increased competition,” he said. “I think most of the trainers and drivers will tell you that the sires stakes races are tougher here than just about anywhere else.”

Making it possible is the Kentucky General Assembly’s embracement of historical horse racing (HHR) at pari-mutuel tracks to grow the industry and create jobs while expanding economic development and tourism.

“The explosive growth on the thoroughbred side is well-known,” said Ted Nicholson, Vice President of Racing for both Cumberland Run and Kentucky Downs. “But we’re also seeing a surge on the harness side that is paying dividends throughout the state.”

Cumulative purses at Kentucky’s three harness tracks (Oak Grove in southwestern Kentucky, Lexington’s Red Mile and Cumberland Run) are

expected to increase 36 percent over last year, according to Drew Conners, Director of Incentives and Development for the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corp.

Horses made eligible to the Kentucky Sires Stakes program have dramatically increased. Horses can become eligible in two ways: Being by a sire and/or out of a mare who spent at least 180 days in the commonwealth during the calendar year in the year of conception.

Kentucky went from having only 13 standardbred stallions in 2014 (and only eight in 2018) to 23 in 2023, with the deadline Dec. 31 to nominate stallions for this year, according to racing commission statistics. Nominated broodmares jumped from 547 in 2014 to 1,776 last year. Kentucky-eligible yearlings increased from 69 in 2014 to 1,279 this year; 2-year-olds from 43 to 716 and 3-year-olds from 65 to 384.

The recent Lexington Selected Yearling Sale showed a marked increase in Kentucky-eligible horses, including those who have dual eligibility with states such as New Jersey or Pennsylvania. Helping to fuel the increase are standardbred breeders buying farms in Kentucky for their mares, Avritt said, also noting that a state-of-the-art standardbred training center is going up in Woodford County and other private tracks have been built in the state.

“I think that Cumberland’s additional 12 dates are part of an overall pattern of initiatives that have served to boost Kentucky harness racing,” said Mike Tanner, Executive Vice President and CEO of the U.S. Trotting Association. “The three tracks have created an attractive circuit for horsemen providing racing opportunities and a solid purse structure. And the legislative initiatives – and major props here to Senator Damon Thayer – have demonstrated the state’s commitment to the game. It’s all part of a larger mosaic, and it’s working.”

Nationally prominent Tony Alagna, who won the training title at Cumberland Run’s inaugural meet, said he is expanding his Kentucky participation. Case in point: He has 13 horses entered to race Sunday.

“One of my clients is in the process of purchasing a $3 million farm there,” Alagna said by phone. “It’s definitely a huge boost to every facet of Kentucky, the increased purses at the Kentucky Sires Stakes level. There were horses at the sale that I found to be similar in what I was looking for. If one was dual-eligible and one was not, I can tell you which one I bought.

“I think the trajectory is only going to go up.”

Two-day carnival starts Saturday: Cumberland Run has expanded last year’s opening-day carnival to two days, starting Saturday and continuing to Sunday’s meet opener. The family friendly event includes rides, fair-style games and food trucks. Admission and parking are free, with the carnival starting at 11 a.m. ET both days.

From Cumberland Run