WinStar sponsorship returns Kentucky Cup to Turfway Park

The Kentucky Cup Day of Champions will return to the Turfway Park fall schedule this year and for the first time will run under sponsorship. WinStar Farm has assumed presenting sponsorship for the day, to be known as the WinStar Kentucky Cup Day of Champions. The races are scheduled for September 24.

“We deeply appreciate WinStar’s willingness to sponsor this outstanding day of racing,” said Turfway Park president Robert N. Elliston. “This isn’t the first time WinStar has stepped up to support our racing, but it is critical at this juncture. We likewise appreciate the horsemen’s willingness to work with us to return this day to our calendar in the face of continuing economic challenges that are unique in this region to Kentucky racing.”

“When we read that the Kentucky Cup had to be cancelled due to the economic conditions in our state last year, we were deeply saddened,” said Elliott Walden, president/CEO and racing manager of WinStar. “The Kentucky Cup has been an integral part of Kentucky’s racing calendar for the last 15 years. We are committed to helping this industry that gives Kentuckians so much and felt like we wanted to get involved with this spectacular day. We also have some creative ideas that you will hear about in the coming weeks, and we are very excited to help promote our industry through the WinStar Kentucky Cup Day of Champions.”

The Kentucky Cup Day of Champions was inaugurated in 1994. All five Kentucky Cup races will be resurrected: the Juvenile and Juvenile Fillies, last run in 2008, and the Classic (G2), Distaff (G3), and Sprint (G3), last run in 2009. The purses, some bolstered by the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund, are:

    Kentucky Cup Classic (G2), 9 furlongs, $200,000 (includes $50,000 KTDF)

    Kentucky Cup Distaff (G3), 8.5 furlongs, $100,000

    Kentucky Cup Sprint (G3), 6 furlongs, $100,000

    Kentucky Cup Juvenile 8.5 furlongs, $100,000 (includes $25,000 KTDF)

    Kentucky Cup Juvenile Fillies, 8 furlongs, $100,000 (includes $25,000 KTDF)