Ramseys Break Churchill Downs Record for Single-Season Wins by Owner

Jun 27, 2013 Travers Manley

Ken and Sarah Ramsey, Churchill Downs’ all-time leading owners in races won with 360, scored a single-season record 28th win of the 38-day Spring Meet when The Sixties-GB cruised to a five-length victory in Thursday’s fifth race.

The Ramseys’ record 28th win broke the previous single-season mark of 27, which was set by A.J. Foyt Jr. during the 93-day Spring/Summer Meet in 1984. They equaled the old record on June 23 when Smittenwithkitten won the seventh race and gave the Nicholasville, Ky. couple their third winner of the afternoon.

“It’s an honor to break the record and we did it in less than half the time,” Ken Ramsey said.

The Ramseys are poised to collect their record 19th title as the meet’s leading owner at Churchill Downs. They lead Bert, Elaine and Richard Klein by 21 with 32 races remaining. This will be their ninth at the Spring Meet and first since 2009. They also have won 10 Fall Meet titles, most recently in 2011.

“I’ve got a bunch of good trainers and the top jockeys are riding for me,” Ramsey said. “I’d rather have them riding for me than against me.”

The Spring Meet ends Sunday and the Ramseys have six horses entered Friday, two horses entered Saturday and seven horses entered on Closing Day.

“Now we’re going to pad the record and put it out of reach,” Ramsey said. “We’re going to try to get 30 here.”

The Ramseys, Eclipse Awards winners for Outstanding Owner in 2004 and 2011, won 25 races at Keeneland’s Spring Meet and shattered the previous record of 12 wins by an owner during a single race meeting at the Lexington racetrack.

Churchill Downs, the world’s most legendary racetrack, has conducted Thoroughbred racing and presented America’s greatest race, the Kentucky Derby, continuously since 1875. Located in Louisville, the flagship racetrack of Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ: CHDN) also operates Trackside at Churchill Downs, which offers year-round simulcast wagering at the historic track. Churchill Downs will conduct the 140th running of the Kentucky Derby on May 3, 2014 and its 2013 Spring Meet is scheduled continues through Sunday, June 30. The track has hosted the Breeders’ Cup World Championships a record eight times. Information about Churchill Downs can be found on the Internet at www.ChurchillDowns.com.

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