2024 Kentucky Downs Turf Sprint Stakes Preview

The Kentucky Downs Turf Sprint, now raced as the Ainsworth Turf Sprint, may still only be a Grade 2, but it is nonetheless one of the richest and most important races in the turf sprint division all year long. The race offers a $1 million purse to all horses plus another $1 million in Kentucky-bred incentives. The winner also earns an automatic entry for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, through the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series.

The 2024 edition of the Kentucky Downs Turf Sprint drew an oversubscribed field of 12 plus one also-eligible. Runners include 2023 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner Nobals, emphatic Jaipur (G1) winner Cogburn, two-time Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee winner Khaadem, and horse-for-course One Timer. It is such a good betting race that Gear Jockey, the durable gelding who won this race in both 2021 and 2023, is a long shot on the morning line.

2024 Kentucky Downs Turf Sprint Stakes Information

• Race Date: Saturday, September 7
• Track: Kentucky Downs
• Post Time: 5:31 p.m. Central Daylight Time
• Distance: six furlongs on the turf
• Age/Sex: three-year-olds and upward
• Where to Watch: FanDuel TV
• Where to Bet: FanDuel Racing

Kentucky Downs Turf Sprint Stakes Draw and Odds

These are the 13 entrants for the race, including post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning-line odds.

Kentucky Downs Turf Sprint Stakes Prep Race Results

The 13 entrants come out of 11 different last-out races. The only one with more than one who raced there last is, unsurprisingly, the Kentucky Downs Preview Turf Sprint, a 5 ½-furlong prep race at Ellis Park on August 4 that was designed as a prep for this race. Charcoal rallied from midfield to score that day. Though second-place Arrest Me Red doesn’t show up in this race—he franked the form by winning an allowance at Kentucky Downs instead—the dead-heat third-place pair of the forwardly placed Coppola and the rallying Mo Stash both return here.

Three runners were last seen in top-level company. Cogburn is the only last-out Grade 1 winner, as he most recently wired the Jaipur on June 8 at Saratoga, winning by 3 ½ lengths. Khaadem will try to rebound from a tenth-place outing in the Prix Maurice de Gheest (G1) on August 4, though he won at the top level earlier in the year. Defending champion Gear Jockey, last seen running 11th in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1) last fall, makes his 7-year-old debut here.

Another three entrants come out of stakes last out, though they were not graded stakes. Witty rallied for second, ¾ lengths behind Dream Shake, in the Van Clief on August 11 at Colonial. Grooms All Bizness was last seen coming from midfield to be third, beaten 1 ¼ lengths by Alogon, as the odds-on favorite in the Parx Dash on August 24. Noble Reflection, a well-beaten 11th behind First Peach in the one-mile Wickerr in his seasonal debut, turns back for this sprint race.

The other four entrants all come out of allowance company. Axthelm wheels back after a third-level allowance win by ½ length over Judge Davis at 6 ½ furlongs at Kentucky Downs on September 1. One Timer was second in an allowance over that same course and distance the day before, missing by just a head to the class-proven Arrest Me Red. Nobals was fourth last out in a 5 ½-furlong allowance at Saratoga in his seasonal debut, missing by ¾ length to Souper Quest. Five o’ Somewhere, the also-eligible, was third in a five-eighths race at Horseshoe Indianapolis on August 20, 6 ½ lengths adrift of Bushido.

Kentucky Downs Turf Sprint Stakes Contenders

These are the key contenders in the Kentucky Downs Turf Sprint.

• Cogburn (post 4): He is the class of the field, coming out of a score at the top level in the Jaipur. He also has proven six-furlong form, as well as the tactical ability to win from either the front end or a stalking spot. He ran a credible fifth in this race behind Gear Jockey last year, beaten only ¾ length for top prize, a good enough effort to suggest he can run well over this course. He shapes as a major contender, but the concern is that he’ll be an underlay on the tote, since he doesn’t loom over the field the way a horse close to even money in a 12-horse field needs to in order to make that bet good.
• Gear Jockey (post 1): He deserves to be a long shot given that he has not raced since the Breeders’ Cup last year, and he has to contend with a rail draw in a big field. However, he has tactical speed even from near-inside draws, and he is the epitome of a horse for this Kentucky Downs course. He has turned up in Franklin, Kentucky twice—and both times, he took top honors in this race. Of course, with the ascending profile of Kentucky Downs, the fields are only getting deeper. But, Kentucky Downs is different enough from other courses around the country that a horse-for-course who shows up in graded company cannot be ignored, especially at a price.
• Khaadem (post 8): The one European shipper, he has to bounce back from a pair of disappointments in the July Cup (G1) and the Prix Maurice de Gheest. However, he won at the top level going six furlongs at Royal Ascot three back, and with firm ground expected at Kentucky Downs this weekend, he has every chance to relish the ground. With plenty of good American speed in the race, too, he has every chance to get a sharp pace ahead of him and run on late.
• Nobals (post 10): He has the class, since he won the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint last year. However, demand a price. On one hand, he has tactical speed and Chicago trainers like Larry Rivelli tend to outrun their odds at Kentucky Downs. However, the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint was a five-eighths race last year and six demanding furlongs at Kentucky Downs may be on the long side. This race may end up being another race to help him get into shape for the Breeders’ Cup, or a shorter prep next month.
• One Timer (post 3): He is Nobals’ stablemate in the Larry Rivelli barn, and although he is not the Breeders’ Cup winner on the shedrow, he is the one who has the better chance in this particular spot. All three of his races at Kentucky Downs have been good efforts, including a Grade 2 win at this distance in 2022, a head miss in this race last year, and a head miss to Arrest Me Red last week. He has speed but also the ability to battle, he keeps Rivelli regular rider Jareth Loveberry aboard, and if he can handle the quick return he is as good as anyone here.
• Witty (post 11): A Great Notion half to Caravel, Witty has only been out of the exacta once in his last 12 outings, including in the Highlander (G2) going six furlongs at Woodbine two starts back. He has yet to try Kentucky Downs, but he is a consistent type who can take his show on the road, he can get the distance, and there is enough speed to set up for him to run on for a piece of the exotics.

Kentucky Downs Turf Sprint Stakes FAQ

Q: When is the Kentucky Downs Turf Sprint?

A: The Kentucky Downs Turf Sprint will be run on Saturday, September 7, 2024, at 5:31 p.m. Central Daylight Time.

Q: Where is the Kentucky Downs Turf Sprint?

A: The Kentucky Downs Turf Sprint Stakes happens at Kentucky Downs in Franklin, Kentucky. The race is carded as the 11th of 12 on the day, and the last of six seven-figure stakes races on the card.

Q: Which trainer has the most wins in the Kentucky Downs Turf Sprint?

A: Rusty Arnold leads all trainers with three victories in this race. He won with Totally Boss in 2019, and with Gear Jockey in both 2021 and 2023. Arnold brings Gear Jockey back for a three-peat bid.

Q: Who is the favorite for the Kentucky Downs Turf Sprint?

A: Jaipur winner Cogburn is the 6-5 morning-line favorite for the race, off of consecutive graded-stakes wins in the Twin Spires Turf Sprint (G2) on the Kentucky Derby undercard at Churchill Downs and then the Jaipur on Belmont Stakes day. He is likely to hold as post-time favorite given that level of class, combined with having been beat less than a length in this race last year.

Q: Who is the best Kentucky Downs Turf Sprint jockey?

A: Robby Albarado leads all jockeys with four wins between 2000 and 2016. However, among jockeys who will ride the race this year, Jose Lezcano leads with two victories. He guided Gear Jockey to victory in 2021 and 2023 and returns with the same horse this year.

Q: Who won the Kentucky Downs Turf Sprint in 2023?

A: Gear Jockey won the race in 2023 for the second time in his career for trainer Rusty Arnold and jockey Jose Lezcano, the same connections who also won with him in 2021. They return with Gear Jockey to go for a third victory this year.

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