Churchill Downs' Fall Meet — with fans — begins Sunday

The Kentucky horse racing circuit shifts from Keeneland in Lexington to Churchill Downs in Louisville on Sunday as the home of the Kentucky Derby readies to open its 131st Fall Meet with an 11-race program — all for promising 2-year-old Thoroughbreds — at 1 p.m. (all times Eastern).

The popular 24-day stand covers a five-week stretch every Wednesday-Sunday through Nov. 29, with the exception of Friday, Nov. 6, and Saturday, Nov. 7, when the Breeders’ Cup World Championships return to Keeneland.

The Fall Meet kicks off in style Sunday with the 16th annual “Stars of Tomorrow I” program, which is entirely devoted to hopeful 2-year-old stars that have aspirations of trail-blazing their way to next year’s Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks (GI).

Sunday’s 11-race opening day card is headlined by the eighth runnings of two 1 1/16 miles, $98,000-added overnight stakes — the open-company Street Sense and Rags to Riches for fillies. Those races serve as local steppingstones to the two Grade 2, $200,000, 1 1/16-mile counterparts on the Saturday, Nov. 28, “Stars of Tomorrow II” program — the open Kentucky Jockey Club and Golden Rod for fillies, which are part of the Road to the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks series and award award points to the Top 4 finishers (10-4-2-1).

Races will be open to spectators

Sunday’s Fall Meet opener will mark the first time this year that spectators can return to Churchill Downs for live racing.

Churchill Downs will continue to follow the COVID-19 health and safety protocols for venues and events as mandated by the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Last year’s average daily attendance during the Fall Meet was 4,200 guests, and fewer spectators are expected this year.

Reserved outdoor box seats as well as select indoor premium areas will be open with proper social distancing at limited capacity in accordance with the state’s requirements for venues and event spaces.

To facilitate a safe and enjoyable experience, there will be no general admission at the Fall Meet, but first floor reserved box seats will be sold at general admission pricing for $5 ($7 on Nov. 27-28). Third floor box seats are $12. Dining options are $39 ($72 on Thanksgiving Day and $49 on Nov. 27-28).

Tickets may be purchased online at the Churchill Downs website.

Temperature checks, medical questionnaires, physical distancing and mandatory face coverings will be required upon entrance and movement within Churchill Downs. An inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public place where people are present.

10 stakes races during meet

Ten stakes races cumulatively worth $1.796 million — which includes eight graded stakes events — will be run during the fall stand.

With a compact 24-day schedule and not as many competing race meets at year’s end, the Fall Meet often offers large fields. Last fall, the average field size was 8.9 horses per race.

Purses at Churchill Downs have been increased since September 2018 because of business from historical racing machines at nearby Derby City Gaming. This year’s Fall Meet condition book offers $15.2 million in prize money (all purses include money from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund), which averages to $633,900 per day. There will be a total of 251 races, and the average purse offered is $60,616 per race. Maiden special weight races are worth $85,000, and allowance races range from $87,000 to $95,000.

The anchor of the lucrative stakes program comes on “Black Friday,” Nov. 27 with the 146th running of the $500,000 Clark (G1). The 1 1/8-mile test for 3-year-olds and up annually lures some of the top older horses in North America and is one of six stakes events cumulatively worth $1.3 million to be contested over Thanksgiving weekend.

After Sunday’s opener, live racing will be conducted on a Wednesday-Sunday schedule with dark days on Mondays, Tuesdays and Friday, Nov. 6, and Saturday, Nov. 7. Most race days feature 10 live races. There will be 11 on Sunday’s opener as well as on Saturday, Nov. 14, and Saturday, Nov. 21. Twelve-race cards are scheduled over the final four days, Nov. 26-29.

Post time will be 1 p.m. on most racing days with admission gates open at noon. There will be an early 11:30 a.m. start (gates 10:30 a.m.) on Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, Nov. 26) — a Louisville tradition at Churchill Downs since 1969.