Pat Day to Make Kentucky Cup Appearance

Hall of Fame jockey Pat Day and New Jersey Nets head coach Avery Johnson will be among guests of WinStar Farm at Turfway Park Saturday for the WinStar Kentucky Cup Day of Champions.

Day will be available for photos with fans from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. on the Turfway track apron at a display of trophies won by WinStar Farm at three of the world's most prestigious races: the 2010 Kentucky Derby, won by Super Saver; the 2010 Belmont Stakes, won by Drosselmeyer; and the 2009 Dubai World Cup, the world's richest race, won by Well Armed. While the photo session with Day ends at 1:30 p.m., fans can continue to have their photos taken with the trophies until 3:00 p.m.

Track photographer Pat Lang will take the photos, which will be free to download from his website, patlang.smugmug.com, or fans may use their own cameras.

Later on Saturday, Day and Johnson will be among guests presenting trophies for the five stakes races that comprise the WinStar Kentucky Cup Day of Champions series. All five races prepare horses for the $25.5 million Breeders' Cup World Championships in November, to be held this year at Churchill Downs.

Kenny Troutt, owner of WinStar Farm, will present the trophy to the winner of the $200,000 WinStar Kentucky Cup (G2). In 1988, Troutt founded Excel Communications, a telecommunications service company that went public in 1996. A longtime horseman, he established WinStar Farm in Versailles, Ky., in 2000, and the farm has since been widely recognized for its leadership within the industry. Troutt formerly served on the boards of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA) and the Breeders' Cup and on the Executive Committee of the Race Track Chaplaincy of America. WinStar Farm won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Owner for 2010 and was recently named TOBA 2010 Owner of the Year.

Johnson, former NBA star and now coach of the New Jersey Nets, will present the trophy for the Speightstown Kentucky Cup Sprint (G3).

The trophy for the Distorted Humor Kentucky Cup Distaff (G3) will be presented by Bill Casner, Troutt's former partner in WinStar Farm and president of Casner Racing.

Elliott Walden, formerly a private trainer and now president and CEO of WinStar Farm, will present the trophy for the Bluegrass Cat Kentucky Cup Juvenile. Walden serves as president of the Kentucky chapter of the Race Track Chaplaincy of America.

Day will present the first trophy of the day, for the Tiznow Kentucky Cup Juvenile Fillies.

Also on hand for a special winner’s circle presentation will be Mike Ziegler, executive director of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association Safety and Integrity Alliance, on hand to recognize Turfway's reaccreditation by the SAIA.

First post Saturday is 1:10 p.m. The five Kentucky Cup races are scheduled as races six through 10 on the 12-race card. Admission is free; reserved seating is available. Parking also is free, with valet parking an option.