Danner can cap career year in Synthetic Championships
Turfway Park press release by Kevin Kerstein (Coady Media photo of Nice as Pie winning Turfway’s Serena’s Song)
FLORENCE, Ky. (Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2024) – Trainer Kelsey Danner will be aiming to build on an already career-best year during Turfway Park’s Synthetic Championships on Saturday night where her stable will be represented in two of the evening’s featured stakes, with Nice as Pie competing in the $250,000 Holiday Inaugural and Run Carson entered in the $250,000 Holiday Cheer.
Danner, who keeps horses based year-round at Turfway, has recorded 38 wins from 282 starts in 2024, with her stable earning more than $2.2 million in purses. The milestone year underscores the steady rise of Danner, who grew up around the sport with a long lineage of horse trainers in her family.
“This year has been incredible for our team,” Danner said. “We’re looking forward to Saturday night with both of these horses. Each of their races came up very competitive and they’ll have to be at the top of their game.”
Nice as Pie, a 3-year-old homebred for Dede McGehee, returns to Turfway for the Holiday Inaugural, where she will try to maintain her perfect record over the Tapeta surface. The daughter of Tapiture is 4-for-4 at Turfway, with stakes victories in the Serena’s Song and Valdale Stakes during the Winter/Spring Meet.
“Nice as Pie’s record at Turfway speaks for itself and she loves the surface there,” Danner said. “We’re adding blinkers for this start to keep her a little more focused during the race. We’re excited for her to get back on it Saturday.”
Since her success at Turfway earlier this year, Nice as Pie has ventured to other tracks and surfaces but hasn’t had the same level of success. She finished second in the Penn Oaks and fourth in the Mamzelle Stakes and the Presque Isle Masters (GII). Most recently, she finished 10th in the Valley View Stakes (GII) on the turf at Keeneland. Luis Saez will ride Nice as Pie, who breaks from post 6 in the six-furlong Holiday Inaugural, scheduled as Race 5 at 8:11 p.m.
Two races later, NBS Stable’s Run Carson will compete in the Holiday Cheer for his first start on the Tapeta surface. The 3-year-old colt by Maclean’s Music has been consistent throughout his career, winning four of eight starts, including a turf allowance at Churchill Downs and the Carle Place Stakes during the Belmont at Aqueduct meet.
“This will be Run Carson’s first start on synthetic,” Danner said. “But he’s based at Turfway and has worked over the surface plenty of times. He handles it well in the mornings, so we’re optimistic.”
Run Carson will also be ridden by Saez and breaks from post 3.
Saturday’s Synthetic Championships feature a total four stakes races with combined purses of $1 million. Along with the Holiday Cheer and Holiday Inaugural, the card includes the $250,000 Prairie Bayou (Listed) and $250,000 My Charmer. Fans can watch and wager on TwinSpires.com, which will also host the Turfway Park Handicapping Championship with a guaranteed $5,000 top prize plus a seat to the Kentucky Derby Betting Challenge.
Live coverage will air on FanDuel TV, with on-site reports from Matt Carrothers, Gabby Gaudet and Joe Talamo.
For more information about the Holiday Meet and Saturday’s Synthetic Championships, visit www.turfway.com.
SPECIAL ALL-STAKES PICK 4 ADDED TO WAGERING MENU SATURDAY – A special all-stakes Pick 4 will be added to the wagering menu on Saturday, featuring the four Synthetic Championship stakes in Races 4-7.
The 50-cent based wager, with a low 14% takeout, begins with Race 4, the $250,000 My Charmer Stakes, a 1 1/16-mile race for fillies and mares with a wide-open field of 11. Race 5 is the $250,000 Holiday Inaugural, whereOXO Equine’s Dream Supreme winner Upper Case (3-1), Dede McGehee’s Tapeta specialist Nice as Pie (7-2) and Moyglare Stud Farm’s multiple stakes winner Love Appeals (4-1) headline a field of 12 fillies and mares, along with two also-eligibles. In Race 6, the $250,000 Prairie Bayou (Listed), Godolphin’s Wadsworth is the slight 3-1 favorite in a 1 1/16-mile contest against 11 rivals and two also-eligibles. The sequence concludes with Race 7, the $250,000 Holiday Cheer, where Gold Square’s Grade I winner Howard Wolowitz (5-2) takes on a full field in the six-furlong sprint.
The wagering menu for the nine-race card will also include two Pick 5s (Races 1 and 5), two additional Pick 4s (Races 2 and 6) and the 20-cent Single 6 Jackpot, which begins in Race 4.
TWINSPIRES OFFERS $5,000 GUARENTEED FIRST PRIZE, KDBC SEAT IN SATURDAY’S TURFWAY PARK HANDICAPPING CHAMPIONSHIP – Horseplayers have a shot at big prizes and prestige in the Turfway Park Handicapping Championship, set for Saturday on TwinSpires.com. Featuring a $10,000 added prize pool with a guaranteed $5,000 to first place along with a seat to the Kentucky Derby Betting Challenge (KDBC).
Qualifiers for the Turfway Park Handicapping Championship will be held throughout the week on TwinSpires. For more details and to register, visit www.twinspires.com/tournaments.
