About Kentucky Downs

Kentucky Downs race very rarely, on turf only and draw most of their visitors from nearby Nashville which is only around 40 miles away.

There is a big draw from across the state line in Tennessee as the next nearest gambling options, other than lottery, are the riverboat casinos which are more than two hours away.

The track is set to once again put up just one main racing fixture in 2018; the rest of the time Kentucky Downs is essentially an off-track betting site where horseplayers can place bets on the other tracks around the country via simulcast.

Kentucky Downs’ biggest race these days is the Kentucky Cup Turf Stakes, run every year in September as a Grade 3 race over a mile-and-a-half.

The race is the main event on the track’s opening day of racing and was first run in 1991 as the Sam Houston Handicap. The race was not run anywhere else during the time when Kentucky Downs, then the Dueling Grounds, was closed but was re-introduced under its current title when the track reopened in 1998 as part of the Kentucky Cup Turf Festival.

As part of their commitment to innovation, Kentucky Downs in 2011 introduced Instant Racing, a game in which bettors can play at a terminal (almost like a slot machine) using racing data and video.

Kentucky Downs History

A relatively new track, Kentucky Downs was built in 1990 and named Dueling Grounds based on the history of the farm on whose property the track was built.

In its early days the track was used only for steeplechasing, ever popular in England, Ireland and France, but with the fences removed the track went to flat racing only from 1992 though the chasing has returned infrequently over the years.

Like many tracks in the States Kentucky Downs went through its financial problems in the 90’s, eventually becoming so bad that the track missed its 1997 season before being used as a concert location.

In ’97 though the track was bought at auction by Churchill Downs and Turfway Park amongst others with the name at that point changing to Kentucky Downs and the track being designed to host a modest amount of racing fixtures each season.

Kentucky Downs Track Details

The Downs’ turf course is just over a mile-and-a-quarter in length and is fairly unique for the States in that there is a slight right turn seven furlongs out before the gradual left turn towards the home stretch.

Along with Santa Anita, Kentucky Downs is one of only two tracks in the whole country to ask horses and riders to turn right at any stage. There is no dirt track at the venue.

Biggest Races

Kentucky Cup Turf Stakes – three-year-olds and over, 1½ miles, Grade 3 (September).
Kentucky Cup Turf Dash – three-year-olds and over, 6 furlongs (September).

Wager At Kentucky Downs With TVG!

Now you know all about the track, don’t forget you can wager on races there with TVG. Head to our schedules page to check out the latest race times then bet and watch live!

Address

5629 Nashville Rd, Franklin, KY 42134, USA

Contact

Corey Johnsen (coreyjohnsen@kentuckydowns.com)