Kentucky Downs stats by Dick Downey

10.18 starters per race. One 14-horse race. 26 winners made prior start at Saratoga – and more!

2026 Kentucky Downs meet stats by Dick Downey, @DowneyProfile (Coady Media/Renee Torbit photo above of Bottas winning the 14-horse KTDF Gun Runner Stakes)

Dick Downey — who was born and raised in Franklin, Ky., and is a longtime resident of Bowling Green — has seen most of the racing in Kentucky Downs’ history and is the all-grass horse track’s de facto historian and statistician. His TheDowneyProfile.com is a seasonable website about the Kentucky Derby and its contenders. Here are some stats he compiled for the recently completed 2026 Kentucky Downs meet.

Total races: 81 in seven days
Average races per day: 11.57
Total starters: 825
Average starters per race: 10.185

Day 3: 7 races due to high temperatures

Days 6 and 7: 14 races each day

14 horses in the starting gate: 1 time. Race 9 on Monday, Sept. 7. $1.75 million KFDF Gun Runner Stakes won by favored Bottas (Ortiz, Clement), Note: Kentucky Downs is limited to having 14-horse fields only in stakes races, at certain distances and can’t be 2-year-olds. 

Winning favorites: The final three days, 17 favorites won 40 races (43%). The first four days, 7 favorites won 41 races (17%)
Day 1: 1 of 11 (Saturday Aug. 29)
Day 2: 3 of 11 (Sunday Aug. 30)
Day 3: 2 of 7 (Thursday Sept. 3)
Day 4: 1 of 12 (Saturday Sept. 5)
Day 5: 7 of 12 (Sunday Sept. 6)
Day 6: 5 of 14 (Monday Sept. 7)
Day 7: 5 of 14 (Wednesday Sept. 9)
TOTAL: 24 of 81, or 30%

Winners last raced:
Saratoga 26
Ellis Park 15
First-time starters 11 (DD believes this must be the most ever)

Colonial Downs 5
Churchill Downs 4
Europe 4
Del Mar 3
Gulfstream Park 3
Kentucky Downs 3 (all ran back at this meet)
Horseshoe Indianapolis 2
Woodbine 2
Keeneland 1
Penn National 1
Presque Isle Downs 1
TOTAL: 81

Jockey wins
Flavien Prat 16 (two six-win days )  47-16-2-3   34%/45%
Jose Ortiz    14 (won 4 of 7 on shortened day 3)  66-14-9-5   21%/42%
Prat and Ortiz both absent opening day
Luis Saez     6     49-6-5-2    12%/27%
Tyler Gaffalione   4    59-4-10-8   7%/37%
Brian Hernandez Jr.   4    39-4-4-10   10%/46%

Jockey purse $
Jose Ortiz  $4,579,545
Flavien Prat $4,413,676
Luis Saez $2,439,204
Tyler Gaffalione $2,382,622
Brian Hernandezl Jr. $2,000,817

Trainer wins
Mike Maker 10      42-10-1-6  24%/40%
Brad Cox     8    27-8-1-5     30%/54% 
Wesley Ward 8   25-8-2-3   32%/52%
Joe Sharp    5    56-5-9-4    9%/32%
Mark Casse  5   40-5-4-4      13%/33%

Trainer purse $
Brad Cox   $3,801,312
Miguel Clement  $2,745,051
Joe Sharp  $2,198,091
Mike Maker  $1,744,371
Mark Casse $1,475,899
Wesley Ward ninth with $1,087,336