KTDF Committee Approves Kentucky Downs' NBC Proposal

Kentucky Downs' presence in North American racing has grown rapidly over the last decade, and soon, it could have a presence on national television as well. Funding approved during an April 1 meeting of the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation's Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund Advisory Committee cleared the way for the Southern Kentucky track to potentially add a two-hour NBC broadcast at its upcoming 2025 meeting. The $974,000 budget proposed Tuesday by Kentucky Downs' vice president Ted Nicholson was essentially split in two halves: a $474,000 half that closely mirrored the advertising efforts of 2024 to promote the meet to industry participants and local residents near the track; and a $500,000 half that would purchase the broadcast window on NBC Aug. 30. According to Nicholson, the TV deal was "in ink" with NBC and waiting on approval from the KTDF Advisory Committee and then the KHRGC. By purchasing the two-hour time slot, Kentucky Downs will showcase three stakes races, including a Win and You're In race on the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series. Alongside the races, the track plans to conduct interviews with members of the track, KTDF, and horsemen's association members, as well as broadcast commercials to help promote Kentucky and the Thoroughbred industry on a national scale. "We'll do whatever we can to promote the state and the industry. It makes all the sense in the world," Nicholson said. "We have a two-hour commercial, basically, of horse racing within the state of Kentucky." The undulating course, which has a sweeping, unique configuration, can make tracking horses difficult on-site or on television. To address that issue, Nicholson outlined the development of new camera locations among the changes coming to Kentucky Downs in 2025, including the use of a drone and a cable camera that will run the length of the stretch. Other changes to the facility for 2025 include a remodeling of the simulcast center, the creation of a 10,000-square-foot sportsbook, and new brick pavers in the paddock—replacing the grass where connections would stand as the horses are saddled. Earlier in the meeting, the KHRGC approved Kentucky Downs' request to offer KTDF purses in the range of $18 million-$19 million for its seven-day meet that runs from Aug. 28-Sept. 10. Purses for maiden races at the meet are projected to remain at a North American-high $170,000, as they were in 2024. A moment of debate ensued after Nicholson mentioned that the maiden purses could go higher. Braxton Lynch, who represents the Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association on the KTDF board, expressed her desire to see boosted purses of allowance races, which will be contested for $200,000 at the meet, instead of maiden events. Rick Hiles, a board member and KTDF representative of the Kentucky Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, also offered a warning. "I've argued for years about getting these purses up ridiculously at that level because the legislators have tried to come in and take some of this money back," Hiles said. "You get it to a point—it's ridiculous what you're giving away, like $170,000 for maidens—and then the legislators are going to reach in one of these days and say, 'You know what? You guys have too much money. You're doing too much. Give it to us.'"