2025 U.S. Open Turf Championships at Kentucky Downs

U.S. Open Turf Championships Entries at Kentucky Downs

The fields for the richest day of racing in Kentucky Downs history was set Monday for the blockbuster U.S. Open Turf Championships featuring a pair of $2.5 million races and another four worth $2 million apiece on Saturday, September 6.

The total amount offered on the 12-race card exceeds $14 million, surpassed only by Breeders' Cup Championship Saturday. That money includes purse supplements from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund (KTDF) for registered Kentucky-bred horses, which account for the vast majority of horses running.

The fewest entries in any of the stakes is 11 in the $2.5 million KTDF Kentucky Turf Cup Invitational (G2) and the $2 million Light & Wonder Ladies Marathon Invitational (G3). The $2 million Exacta Systems Gun Runner for 3-year-olds at a mile could have 14 runners in Kentucky Downs' new 14-stall starting gate.

Continuing a trend in recent years, four horses entered for Saturday already have run at the meet: opening-day Tapit winner Lagynos coming back in the $2.5 million FanDuel TV Mint Millions; allowance winners Miwa and Stellify back in the $2 million Light & Wonder Ladies Marathon Invitational; and Tawny Port, second in this past Saturday's $1 million Mountain Dew Bowling Green Gold Cup, back in the Kentucky Turf Cup.

The winner of the Kentucky Turf Cup receives a fees-paid spot in the $5 million Longines Breeders' Cup Turf at Del Mar as part of the Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" Challenge Series.

First post for Saturday's card is 11:30 a.m. Central.

Joe Sharp, among the trainers making it a mini-trend to run back at the meet with a horse who wins early in the session, is wheeling back Miwa after her impressive seven-length victory in an opening-day allowance at the Ladies Marathon's 1 5/16-mile distance. Brad Cox is doing the same with Stellify, the front-running winner of a 1 1/2-mile second-level allowance who will be going for her fourth straight win in her stakes debut.

Beach Bomb, a multiple Grade 1 winner in her native South Africa, won a pair of Grade 3 stakes at Gulfstream Park in March and was a close second to the accomplished She Feels Pretty in the G1 New York Stakes at Saratoga. She was fifth in her last start, Colonial Downs' G2 Beverly D. Also coming out of the Beverly D is the late-running fourth-place finisher Duvet Day, a Grade 3 winner at Churchill Downs.

Last year's German Oaks runner-up Spanish Eyes comes into the Ladies Marathon off a late-running second in Colonial Downs' G2 Beverly D. Nadette ships in from California, where she's a graded-stakes winner.

Others include No Mo Candy, a Grade 3 winner in New York last fall who was most recently third in Saratoga's G2 Ballston Spa; Argentine Grade 1 winner Gran Mirella, a Horseshoe Indianapolis allowance winner in her last start; stakes-winner Way to Be Marie and Colonial allowance winner Ayra Stark.

Now 8 years old, Goliad returns from California to seek a repeat in the mile Mint Millions, having not only won that race at Kentucky Downs but the overnight Tight Spot Handicap six days earlier. Goliad, trained by Hall of Famer Richard Mandella, comes into Saturday's race off two off-the-board finishes - which makes his form very similar to last year. Of the gelding's $1.76 million in career earnings, $1.48 million came at Kentucky Downs.

The horse to beat could be Brilliant Berti, winner of last year's Gun Runner. Brilliant Berti won Churchill Downs' G2 Wise Dan in his last start. Overall, the 4-year-old is 7-2-0 in 11 starts, including four wins and a second in five starts. Meanwhile, Spirit of St Louis has won a pair of Grade 1 stakes - Gulfstream Park's Pegasus World Cup Turf and Churchill Downs' Old Forester Turf Classic - and more than $1 million this year. The New York-bred is 11 for 18 overall.

Major Dude is a multiple graded-stakes winner for Todd Pletcher and owner Spendthrift Farm.

Beach Gold won his stakes debut in Ellis Park's Kentucky Downs Preview Turf Mile at 22-1. It produced a poignant result with Andie Biancone (daughter of and assistant to trainer Patrick Biancone) pulling double duty as a FanDuel TV paddock analyst after saddling the horse, then teaming with jockey and boyfriend Keith Asmussen for the victory.

Steve Asmussen, Keith's Hall of Fame dad, didn't think he had a horse for the Mint Millions, but that changed when Lagynos won the opening day $500,000 Keeneland Sales Tapit Stakes. Asmussen had great success last year wheeling back Tiztastic to a pair of Kentucky Downs victories, in an opening-day allowance and then the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile.

Point Lynas could be the third European horse to win a stakes at the meet, following British-based Wimbledon Hawkeye in the DK Horse Nashville Derby and Germany's Flatten the Curve in the Mountain Dew Bowling Green Gold Cup. Point Lynas has five wins but nine seconds in 30 starts. One of those seconds came two races back in Ascot's Group 2 Summer Mile.

Group 1-placed Cairo finished fifth in the Arlington Million (G1) in his U.S. debut after racing all over Europe and the Mideast. He's another horse with a propensity to finish second, win three wins and nine seconds in 22 starts.

Maryland-based Air Recruit is 4-for-6 overall, most recently a nose victory in Monmouth Park's Oceanport. Swift Delivery has won two straight over Woodbine's synthetic surface, including the G3 Seagram Cup. G2 winner Steal Sunshine was entered back after being scratched from the Tapit on opening day. Epic Ride has run well in his two turf starts, including a second to Beach Gold at Ellis Park. St Anthony is a multiple stakes winner trained by Hall of Famer Neil Drysdale.

Giocoso, winner of Colonial Downs' Secretariat (G2) at the same mile distance could give trainer Keith Desormeaux another stakes victory at the meet. Desormeaux won Saturday's $2 million The Mint Kentucky Turf Sprint with Bear River.

British import New Century should benefit from a cut back in distance after finishing fifth and sixth in the Belmont Derby and Saratoga Derby, respectively. The Brendan Walsh trainee was a late-running third in Churchill Downs' Grade 1 American Turf at 1 1/16 miles. Last year he won Woodbine's Grade 1 Summer Stakes and was a good fourth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf.

Namaron, a Grade 3 winner in his native Germany, will make his first start for California-based trainer John Sadler and owners Hronis Racing, who teamed to win Kentucky Downs' Turf Sprint in 2022 with the French import Bran.

Clever Again, a stakes-winner on dirt, prepped for the Gun Runner with a second (upon a disqualification) in Saratoga's Hall of Fame Stakes (G2) on turf. Very fast on dirt, Clever Again rated off the leaders in that grass debut. Also in the field is Tiz Dashing, who set in motion Clever Again becoming the adjudged runner-up after being bumped hard by second-place finisher Luther in the Hall of Fame. The stewards moved up Tiz Dashing from fourth to third.

Rolando makes his turf debut after winning two stakes on dirt. Layabout shoots for a fourth straight win in his first start away from Gulfstream Park. Capitol Hill (a son of Into Mischief) closed to take second in Saratoga's Manila Stakes (G3). Siesta Key won Colonial Downs' Kitten's Joy Stakes.

The 6 1/2-furlong Music City for 3-year-old fillies attracted an overflow field of 15 entries, with 12 able to start. Heading the way is last year's Untapable winner Kilwin, who won Saratoga's Grade 1 Test on dirt as a prep for this Grade 2 turf stakes, and Shisospicy, who beat Kilwin in Churchill Downs' Mamzelle (G3) but is making her first start since racing at Royal Ascot in England in late June. Jose D'Angelo, trainer of Shisospicy, also entered the stakes-winning Cloe.

Tabiti, trained by Ralph Beckett in England, is 3-for-5 with a third, having won two Group 3 stakes. Frankie Dettori, whose six wins are the most at the meet, has the mount.

Mark Casse entered the duo of Classic Q, who led all the way until the final strides to finish second in Saratoga's Grade 3 Lake George, and Abientot, who finished third in last year's Untapable.

Also in the field are Santa Anita's G3 Señorita winner Jungle Peace; Saratoga's Coronation Cup winner Italian Soiree; Pondering, who beat older fillies and mares to win Ellis Park's Kentucky Downs Preview Ladies Sprint; and last year's Untapable runner-up Shezafunydrumme.

The Franklin-Simpson for 3-year-old turf sprinters last year became Kentucky Downs' first Grade 1 stakes.

Trainer George Weaver already has won a stakes this meet with a horse campaigned by a sports figure. That was the Rick Pitino co-owned Johnny's Red Storm taking Sunday's $1 million Kentucky Downs Juvenile Sprint. Now Weaver goes for another with Governor Sam, co-owned by the Bregman Family Racing stable of Red Sox star third baseman Alex Bregman. Governor Sam is named for his dad, who has been in a lot of important roles in New Mexico but not yet as governor.

Governor Sam is 5-1-2 in 10 starts, winning three stakes last year before finishing a close third in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint. Two starts back he won Saratoga's Quick Call (G3).

The Bill Mott-trained Spiced Up upset Governor Sam to win Saratoga's Mahony, a Grade 3 turf sprint, off a maiden victory. Also coming in out of the Mahony is fourth-place Innovator, who was turned over to Steve Asmussen after the death of legendary trainer D. Wayne Lukas.

The well-traveled Chasing Liberty won last year's Kentucky Downs Juvenile Sprint on a disqualification. He subsequently won a pair of mile turf stakes and most recently was third behind Franklin-Simpson winners Troubleshooting and Bridle a Butterfly in Ellis Park's Dade Park Dash.

Mark Casse entered Penn Mile (G3) winner Dream On and the multiple stakes-winner Mi Bago. Dream On set the pace in last fall's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at a mile, only to finish fifth by a total of 2 1/4 lengths.

Antisocial came in third in Colonial Downs' Secretariat. Out On Bail is always in the hunt, even if he tends to finish second more than first. Troubleshooting, Golden Afternoon and Warheart are stakes-winners.

OffTrackBetting.com - US Legal Kentucky Downs OTB is a great way to bet horse racing at the all-turf meet. Available to customers across the United States, OTB features both Thoroughbred and Standardbred racing from major racing venues in the US as well as top international racing from Europe, Japan, Australia and Hong Kong.

Whisper Hill Farm's defending champion Grand Sonata returns to a track he loves in the 1 1/2-mile KTDF Kentucky Turf Cup. Not only did Grand Sonata win last year's Turf Cup, he was second in the Nashville Derby (then called the Dueling Grounds Derby) the year before. The 6-year-old son of Medaglia d'Oro is rounding into top form since being eased in Saratoga's Belmont Gold Cup that came off the turf. Trained by Todd Pletcher, Grand Sonata was second in his last two starts, Monmouth Park's United Nations (G2) and in Colonial Downs' G1 Arlington Million by a half-length.

He'll get a rematch in the Kentucky Turf Cup with the Shug McGaughey-trained Fort Washington, who has won three of his last four starts at four different tracks, the lone defeat being a good fourth in Churchill Downs' Wise Dan (G2). Fort Washington has raced twice at Kentucky Downs, including second by a head in an allowance race in 2023.

Pletcher also entered G2 Bowling Green runner-up El Rezeen.

The 6-year-old Tawny Port, seventh in the 2022 Kentucky Derby and the G3 Ohio Derby winner, has been reinvented into a turf marathoner the past two years. He's only raced four times in 2025 and ran very well at the Bowling Green Gold Cup's 2 1/16-mile distance last Saturday behind German-based two-mile specialist Flatten the Curve.

Louisville Stakes (G3) winner Utah Beach is 4-for-8 at 1 1/2 miles, including Keeneland's Elkhorn (G2). He was fourth in the Sword Dancer (G1) in his last start.

Anglophile carries the banner for Brian Lynch's barn after stablemate Highway Robber, last year's Turf Cup runner-up, was sidelined. Anglophile is 3-for-23 in his career - one of those coming two years ago in the Dueling Grounds Derby - but has been a reliable check-earner while achieving millionaire status.

Mercante - the star of Hermitage Farm farm manager Brian Knippenberg's tiny racing stable - is stretching out after finishing fourth in the Ellis Park prep race for the Mint Millions. Mercante, out of owner Carl Pollard's champion filly Caressing, was runner-up in the Grade 1 Old Forester Turf Classic and a Grade 3 winner on turf and synthetic.

Corruption hasn't won a stakes but he's 5 for 7 this year, losing Gulfstream Park's Pan American (G3) by a neck and finishing fourth in the Grade 1 Manhattan run at Saratoga. He most recently won a 1 3/8-mile allowance race at The Spa.

Vote No, who won the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Sprint two years ago, was claimed by trainer Kelsey Danner for $40,000 at Turfway Park in March. He won his first two starts for his new barn, then was fourth in the United Nations and tired to seventh after setting the pace in the Sword Dancer (G1).

Mike Maker, Kentucky Downs' all-time winningest trainer, will try to make Ole Crazy Bones his latest claim to become a graded-stakes winner. Ole Crazy Bones was claimed for $100,000 two starts ago. He was second by a head in Ellis Park's prep for the Kentucky Turf Cup in his first start for owner Flying P Stable.