The racing world is two weeks removed from the thrilling 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby, the pinnacle of thoroughbred racing. This weekend, at the Churchill Downs Incorporated-led Oak Grove Racing & Gaming, officials look to begin a new harness racing tradition in the Bluegrass State. Saturday (May 16), the track will play host to the inaugural $500,000 Oak Grove Trotting Derby and $300,000 Oak Grove Trotting Oaks, stakes that the Kentucky Harness Association’s Kenny Jackson hopes will develop into key events on the racing calendar.
“We are tremendously pleased,” Jackson said. “We had 101 nominations between the colts and the fillies. So, in this first year, we’re incredibly excited. The entries into the eliminations were fantastic. With the colts and fillies, there were 48 horses, so the support is incredible. From what we’re seeing right now and from what we’re hearing, there’s a real buzz.”
The two stakes anchor the track’s Festival of Racing, which culminates in a day that will feature an 11-race program, the Preakness Stakes simulcast, and capped with a concert by country music artist Jake Owen. Oak Grove’s program features $1.5 million in purses, with the two featured events complemented by a quartet of $100,000 Kentucky Sire Stakes finals, Oaks and Derby consolations and a pair of $50,000 4-year-old open events. The facility, located an hour from Nashville, has come a long way since first opening in October 2019…