Western Kentucky Ellis ParkIt’s situated in Henderson and has been revived lately. The small, rustic truck within the North Banks (Indiana facet, nonetheless Kentucky) of the Ohio River has elevated discipline dimension and pockets ranges after introducing historic horse racing plane to the power as a brand new year-round gaming income stream in 2012.
Within the fall of 2022, Ellis Park was acquired by Churchill Downs, and the ahead momentum of the truck has been escalating ever since. On July Third, Ellis will start the 2024 summer season match. Stay races for a complete of 25 days – With the Kentucky Circuit heading west, let’s check out what Ellis Park has to supply horse gamers and followers. The monitor is predicted to have a profitable match after the big flooding of the property in April. Faucet’s thrilling schedule contains a pockets totaling $4 million in wallets and a maiden race set at $100,000 in Kentucky Breed’s Maiden Race..
The way to get there
For these driving from east factors such because the Louisville space or Lexington, the quickest route is to drive 1-64 westwards by means of southern Indiana to the I-69 intersection north of Evansville, then to I-69 south and westwards to State Route 41, and fewer than a mile south on a really busy giant distance. For what appeared like eternity, the great restore venture required a partial or full closure of the Sherman Minton Bridge, carrying I-64 site visitors from Louisville to southern Indiana. Nonetheless, as of June 2025, work on the two-story bridge has been accomplished.
Main race dates and betting choices
To start the summer season match, Ellis will probably be performing dwell races for 4 consecutive days, together with Thursday, July Third to Sunday, July 4th to holidays. Ellis will then host dwell races on a three-day schedule each Saturday, and will probably be held from Friday, August twenty second to Sunday, August twenty fourth. Ellis will proceed this 12 months’s schedule after transferring on to the Saturday month-to-month weekly schedule for many of final summer season’s competitors and reporting a 20% enhance within the 2024 deal with. The primary race of the match will probably be posted at 11:50am. The race from Ellis will probably be aired on Fan Duel TV.
The dates for main races are Saturday/Sunday, August 2nd-Third. Seven stakes races, together with the Grade 3 Packer Up Stakes, will probably be held in late August and September in preparation for the Kentucky Downs elite turf meat. Six bets have been supplied on Sunday, August tenth, together with the Phillies and the Grooidoll Stakes for the Mare. This was beforehand the Gardenia Stakes, named after two-time champion feminine sprinter who received the race in 2011.
HorsePlayers can have loads of playing alternatives on every race card at Ellis throughout the match, providing not less than two each day picks 5 (minimal 50 cents), three complete turf picks for $3 and 6 20 cents Dade Park picks, every with 15% takeout. Pre-deposits for the race at Ellis are supplied by means of Twinspires.com and owned by Churchill Downs Inc.
Monitor filth and grass traits
Let’s take a look at the monitor traits for the 2024 Ellis Park match victory and attempt to develop the most effective horse technique to wager in 2025.
Beginning with the filth dash, Ellis Park ran 84 filth dash races in 2024, and we will see that it was very reasonable when it comes to working model and publish place. Early pace horses, outlined as lead or race throughout the size of the tempo, earned 37 out of 84 sprints (44% of the race), and sprints scored 36 at 43%, as outlined as races between 1-4 lengths from the tempo. The deprived working model was closers from 4 or extra lengths, incomes 11 of 84 filth sprints in 2024, accounting for 13% of the race. The speedhose tended to have the most effective success from three inside posts, however the stalker had a significantly better victory share when beginning with the 4-6 central publish.
Most of Ellis’ filth routes are pushed at a mile (in 2024 there have been solely eight lengthy routes). The Ellis Park Dust Mile runs from a mile chute with half activates the clubhouse facet. Ellis Mile’s race was very reasonable in 2024, however 49 filth miles have been received by 17 speedhoses, 16 stalkers and 16 closers. A slight benefit of publish place was to go from the center publish of 4-6 to the damaged horse, consistent with the purpose of successful 23 occasions (47% of the race).
The Ellis Park Turf Course is an oval form of 1 mile. Ellis ran a complete of 57 grass routes in final 12 months’s match, and he performed the course very properly. All working types and publish positions have achieved roughly the identical success. The one shock of 2024 is that the Turflute exterior publish truly did the most effective factor. Handycapers betting on the 2025 match ought to pay attention to this pattern as exterior horses on the turf route are sometimes neglected and pay overlay odds. In 2024, the exterior horse within the publish 7+ of the Elystar Flute received 23 (40%) of the 57 races.
All Ellis Park turf sprints have been run on 5½ furlongs, working 30 on the 2024 match. The statistics revealed some stunning outcomes. First, within the 2024 match, there have been exactly zero winners for the Velocity Turf Dash (0-30 Speedster from three interior posts). Speedhose was solely good at turf sprinting when he began with a 4-6 center publish with eight wins in 30 races (who received 27% of turf sprints). The general center publish (14 wins) is much better than the inner publish (8 wins) and exterior posts 7+ (8 wins). The drawback of the principle turf dash was that it went towards Nearer, who earned solely 5 of his 30 turf dashes, making up 17% of the winners.–Noel Michaels
Main jockeys and trainers
The Ellis Park Match boasts a robust jockey colony regardless of among the common Kentucky riders heading to the Saratoga race course for the summer season. The 2024 Ellis Park season noticed the battle for the jockey title between Jaime Torres and Luang Machado, with Torres finally successful, 21 wins in 20 at Machado. Christian Torres returned to 3rd with 17 wins, whereas Edgar Morales completed fourth with 14 wins. Brian Hernandez Jr. and Florent Gelcs earned a big share of the race on far fewer mounts, as they left city extra days. Gerald Corales, Vincent Chemyodo, Martin Garcia, Rafael Bejarano and James Graham may even see a big share of the successful motion. And Tyler Gaffarion, who has lived on the prime of jockey rankings on numerous tracks in Kentucky lately, is ready to return from an ankle harm on the opening day card at Ellis Park.
Ellis Park trainers rankings are some prime burns if final 12 months’s 2024 leaderboard was any indication. Brendan Walsh and Steve Asmussen shared their 2024 Ellis Park coaching title with 14 wins. Walsh received the identical quantity of races as Asmussen, incomes about half of the starters. Walsh had solely 70 starters, however received by 20% clips, whereas Asmussen received by 14 wins from 140 starters at a a lot decrease share with a ten% strike charge. Such a win charge is not going to make cash for bettors.
A number of the different coach handicappers can profit from Ellis Park’s 2025 competitors. Bradcox (9-46, 20%), Chris Hartman (9-39, 23%), Brian Lynch (8-41, 20%), Mike Maker (8-42, 19%), Daleman (8-42) (10-10, 60%), Paul Robo (21-5, 24%), Mark Cass (4-18, 22%), Billmot (4-11, 36%), Paul McGee (4-8, 50%), Brittany Vandenberg (4-7, 57%)–Noel Michaels
Facilities and what to do within the space
Visiting followers will not have the identical expertise as watching top-class horses compete in Ellis at a not too long ago accomplished competitors below the Louisville Twin Spear. That is a part of the attraction of the truck. As a substitute of a billionaire row buffet, a Kentucky Derby mural, a $200 million paddock and ample air-con, there’s a picnic desk, ceiling followers, beer buckets and ice stands. Ellis has one other air-conditioned constructing with a restaurant. That is at present residence to historic horse racing machines and the individuals who play them. The air-conditioned Sky Suite additionally provides beautiful views of the truck and environment. Nonetheless, the vast majority of Ellis Park is outdoor, with many followers gathering within the picnic space and a number of other tents set as much as alleviate publicity to the solar.
Ellis has a relaxed and equal ambiance for households, with easy accessibility to the small paddock and ample room for viewing the race on the monitor apron and rails. Beginning July Third, normal admission is free throughout Ellis’ common competitions, and the occasion schedule is right here.
In case you’re staying within the space for a day or two, spend a while within the Riverwalk space in Henderson and Evansville, avoiding the same old overwhelming presence of chain eating places and shops that line the principle purchasing medicine of State Route 41 on the Kentucky facet, or Evansville (John Lloyd Expressway), Evansville, Indiana. John James Audubon State Park (named after a famend ornithologist and painter) is situated throughout the Ohio River from Ellis Park in Kentucky and provides a stunning shelter for climbing, chook watching and museums.
You’ll always remember to say Owensboro, close to Owensboro, Kentucky, about 25 miles east of Henderson alongside the Ohio River. Owensboro is without doubt one of the greatest cities in Kentucky and is named one other vacation spot, Riverwalk space, the Bluegrass Corridor of Fame, downtown museums and maybe greater than the rest, because the world’s capital. Each the Moonlite Bar-BQ Inn (for the buffet expertise) and the older Hickory Bar B-Que (Dine in or Carry Out) are beneficial.– Patrick Reed
