Turfway Park is betting the excitement surrounding Sunday鈥檚 Kentucky Derby photo finish will be good for the opening of its new grandstand and historical horse racing venue Sept. 1.
Rich Strike has a history with the Florence Park and so do the trainer and jockey. The horse鈥檚 win at Turfway April 2 ultimately helped the three-year-old get in the Derby. (With another horse dropping out, Rich Strike鈥檚 trainer learned he was in just 36 hours before the big race began.)
Turfway鈥檚 General Manager Chip Bach relived this weekend鈥檚 memories during Tuesday morning鈥檚 Eggs 鈥橬 Issues event put on by the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce.
鈥淣ow we鈥檝e got this yeomen trainer from Kentucky, a young man who rides in Kentucky (jockey Sonny Leon) 鈥� in the snow and the wind and the ice 鈥� win the Kentucky Derby and the story is just phenomenal,鈥� says Bach.
Leon is well known in Northern Kentucky horse racing circles. Bach says he did five races at Anderson Township鈥檚 Belterra Park Friday.
Belterra Park would like to congratulate the winner of the Kentucky Derby - Rich Strike - Trained by Eric Reed and ridden by Sonny Leon. He is the 2nd longest shot to ever win the "Run for the Roses."
— BelterraPark (@BelterraPark)
$163.60 to win and finished in 2:02.61
EM
鈥淚 know people are excited. I can鈥檛 have a conversation anywhere without talking about when we open, what we鈥檙e going to do, how it鈥檚 going to look,鈥� says Bach.
Churchill Downs owns Turfway Park and Newport Racing and Gaming. The new $145 million Florence grandstand and historical horse racing venue features a large clubhouse, event center and improvements to the jockey dorms and new barns for the horses.
