Horses And Those Who Care For Them Are Steadily Arriving At Ellis Park

Horses and those who care for them are steadily arriving at Ellis Park, a month in advance of the thoroughbred track’s July 1-Labor Day meet. J.J. Gloria, Ellis’ stall superintendent, says 180 already are on the grounds with scores more expected well before the  deluge that hits right on top of the summer racing season.

Expected soon are at least 48 horses trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, whose division stabled at Ellis Park last year included 2017 Kentucky Derby runner-up Lookin At Lee. That colt, who won a maiden race and the $75,000 Ellis Park Juvenile at the track, also finished fourth in the Preakness Stakes and will contest the June 10 Belmont Stakes, the Triple Crown’s finale.

“We definitely have more horses than at the same time last year, and we’re getting a lot more inquiries from all over, really,” said Gloria, who has worked at Ellis off and on for 28  years. “I get new calls every day. The purse money is right now, so it’s worth it for them to come. And this is the best racetrack surface in the world. Go anywhere and show me a better one.”

Trainers who for the first time will either have their entire stable or a division based at Ellis include Brad Cox, Randy Morse, Ingrid Mason, Jose Castanon and Chris Davis.

“Our enhanced purses have resonated with horsemen, and we expect to keep building on the memorable 2016 season,” said racing secretary Dan Bork.

That also included maiden wins by the Kenny McPeek-trained Kentucky Oaks runner-up Daddys Lil Darling, now in England for Friday’s Group 1 Investec Oaks at legendary Epsom Downs, and the Dale Romans-trained Not This Time, who fell a  head shy of winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

Some stall space remains available for stabling, Bork said.

Ron Moquett was one of the first out-of-town horsemen to ship into Ellis Park, with about 35 horses. Among the 2-year-olds Moquett had training last summer at Ellis at some stage were future stakes-winner Uncontested and stakes-placed Petrov.

“The track is very kind here,” said Eddie Ruiz, a Moquett assistant who has trained on and off on his own. “Ron has confidence in the racetrack to bring those kinds of horses here. I watched Lookin At Lee run here, and (in 2015) Runhappy, who went on to be champion sprinter. You have good horses come here.”

Increased play on Historical Horse Racing terminals, the innovative parimutuel technology that provides a different gambling experience, and a $1.65 million transfer in purses and Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund purse supplements from Kentucky Downs will boost Ellis’ purses to record levels in the top-tier races. That includes maiden races carrying total purses of $40,000 for registered Kentucky-bred horses, which comprise the majority of those running.

John Hancock, a third-generation thoroughbred trainer from Henderson, predicted last year that Ellis Park would have its “meet of all meets.”

“And it was,” he said. “As good as last summer was, fans are in for a treat this year. There’s no doubt in my mind, with the caliber of horses and people coming, this will be even better.”

Hancock said one component is that Ellis’ local horsemen “have really stepped up” and that showed by horses who spent the winter at Henderson’s Riverside Downs training center winning seven races at Keeneland’s spring meet.

Hancock won five of those races, including with 2-year-old fillies Amberspatriot and Waki Patriot, who went on to be second (by a neck) and a troubled fourth against boys in Churchill Downs’ Kentucky Juvenile. Now he’s looking at New York’s Astoria Stakes for them, while saying he has some other babies that might be as good or better and who likely will surface at Ellis.

Horses at Ellis Park mean jobs in the area. Cox estimates that his 30 horses to be stabled at the track will involve “15 or 16” employees. Hancock says he has 10 employees, not counting his heavily-involved family members, taking care of 30 horses.

“The horse industry here puts a lot of money in area farmers’ pockets,” Hancock said. “Feed companies, hay and straw. I bet that four months out of the year, Ellis Park is the biggest employer within 50-60 miles, with everybody who works in the industry, frontside and backside.”

For information about stabling, contact racing secretary Dan Bork at (812) 425-1456 or dan.bork@ellisparkracing.com.

Photos: At top – Waki Patriot, who won a Keeneland maiden race and was a close fourth against boys in Churchill Downs’ Kentucky Juvenile, trains at Ellis Park under exercise rider Savannah Goeble (Jennie Rees photo). Below: Area farmers sell straw and hay to trainers stabled at Ellis (Rees photo). A horse galloping at dawn at Ellis (Coady Photography).

About Ellis Park

Built by the Green River Jockey Club as Dade Park in 1922, Ellis Park is located in Henderson just south of Evansville, Ind., on the only sliver of Kentucky north of the Ohio River. The track was renamed Ellis Park in 1954 for long-time owner James C. Ellis, who bought Dade Park out of bankruptcy in its early years. The second-oldest racetrack in Kentucky behind Churchill Downs, Ellis Park has withstood the devastating Ohio River flooding in 1937 and a horrific tornado in 2005. The track was purchased in 2006 from Churchill Downs Inc. by prominent Kentucky entrepreneur Ron Geary. The 2017 live race meet runs July 1-Labor Day, Fridays through Sundays, plus July 3 and 4th and Sept. 4, with no racing Saturday, Sept. 2. Admission and parking are free. Betting on Historical Horse Racing terminals that provide different interactive gaming options is offered seven days a week, as is simulcast wagering on racetracks across the country. 3300 US-41 N., Henderson, KY 42420