Turfway Park's Holiday Meet Returns with Boosted Purses

Turfway Park is set to kick off its 2024 holiday meet on Wednesday, Dec. 4, featuring increased purses and exciting racing action. Over $7 million in total purse money will be up for grabs during the 15-day meet, offering an average daily purse of $467,793. This figure includes contributions from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund, pending approval from the Kentucky Horse Racing & Gaming Corporation.

Maiden special weight races will offer $80,000 purses, a jump from last year’s $70,000, while allowance races will range from $82,000 to $86,000, up from the previous $72,000 to $80,000.

The meet’s stakes highlight is the new Turfway Park Synthetic Championships, scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 14, with four $250,000 stakes races: the Prairie Bayou, Holiday Cheer, My Charmer, and Holiday Inaugural. The meet will conclude on Saturday, Dec. 28, with the $125,000 Gowell Stakes, ahead of the winter-spring meet beginning Jan. 1.

"We're excited to continue enhancing Kentucky's year-round racing circuit," said Tyler Picklesimer, Turfway Park's director of racing. "With competitive stakes and attractive purses, Turfway is the place to be for winter racing."

The "Make Your Mare" series, in partnership with Claiborne Farm, returns after a successful debut, offering fillies and mares a chance to win stallion credits in select stakes races. Live evening racing will follow a Wednesday-through-Saturday schedule, excluding Christmas Day.