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Hello to all of my fellow horse fans. I have been enjoying all the great racing for Kentucky Derby prep and otherwise good fun and competition. I was hoping to make it to Turfway Park to see one of my favorite horses race live yesterday but that race proved to be a little too far away and too late. However, I finally made it to the Red Mile to enjoy an evening of historical and simulcast racing.
The Red Mile is a standardbred harness race track in Lexington, KY, my hometown. Harness racing is not my favorite sport but I have been there a few times to see it. The track length is a mile and it is composed of red clay thus the track’s name, Red Mile. The 1st race there was on September 28, 1875, There was no live racing at Red Mile yesterday, 3/18/16, rather the facility was remodeled last September to mark 140 years and to feature “Instant Racing”, simulcasting, dining and entertainment in addition to harness racing. Keeneland went in with Red Mile to make it the fun place it is today.
“Instant Racing” is a lot like slot machines. There are over 900 terminals featuring pari-mutual electronic games. The games show historical racing on a small screen after you have picked 3 horses and made your bet. I thought it was fun to play and I loved seeing all of the different tracks featured.
After, I left the machines, with more money than I had brought with me, I checked out the areas for dining and the space for the live band. The food looked appealing and affordable. The band, Zed’s Dead, was entertaining.
I also ventured up a floor to see all the simulcasting. They had a handicapping contest taking place too. The facility is nice, very clean and spacious with plenty of helpful staffing. I was looking forward to watching a race at Turfway Park, in Florence, KY, set to post at 9:09 P.M. EST.
I have had the good fortune of visiting with two of breeder, Lucy Bassett’s, horses since they first began training. These two 3 year old fillies are Titled and Ma’am. Before they were racing, these two horses lived at The Thoroughbred Center, a Keeneland affiliated farm in Lexington, KY. They stayed and trained in Geoff Mulcahy’s barn. He has been kind enough to let me watch him train them on a few occasions. Now, Ma’am and Titled are training with Kenneth G. McPeek. Ma’am was sired by Colonel John and her dam is Lady Siphonica. Ma’am has Corey S. Nakatani for a jockey and is owned by Lance, Greg and David Gasaway with David Hamby III. Titled has Lily’s Girl for a dam and her sire was Scat Daddy. Titled is still owned by Bassett and she has Sophie Doyle for her jockey. Ma’am has raced 3 times at Oaklawn Park and she broke her maiden the last time out on 2/27/16. Titled had her second career race last night. She also got her start at Oaklawn.
Titled has not broken her maiden yet. It was still very exciting to see her come from the back of the pack to sweep third place last night. I enjoyed wagering on her from the Red Mile and she paid $5.60. I am pleased with both Ma’am and Titled and I’m looking forward to their next races. I would love to see them race live and I’m still hoping to make it to Turfway Park in the near future.
The Red Mile is an excellent place for various entertainment and simulcasting. I imagine I will be back soon and I have my own rewards card now. It was easy to get to, parking was plenty and free. The facility is open year round from 10am to 2 pm Sunday thru Thursday and open 2 additional hours, until 4 am, on Friday and Saturday. If you are planning a trip, check the Red Mile out here: Red Mile Please, comment, like and share. I will post a new story weekly or more often. Thank you for your time!
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