Factor This on graded streak entering Preview Day Turf

Mostly big fields with recognizable names were expected when entries were drawn Thursday for the third annual Kentucky Downs Preview Day, to be held Sunday at Ellis Park in western Kentucky.

Five $100,000 turf stakes will be run as designated preps for the Kentucky Downs meet, which runs Sept. 7-16. Brad Cox and Mike Maker are among the prominent trainers expected to have a multitude of starters in the preview races, with Factor This in the 1 1/4-mile Preview Turf Cup for Cox being the most notable.

Factor This has won his last three starts, all graded turf stakes, with Beyer Speed Figures ranging from 99 to 104. The Preview Turf Cup is a prep for the $600,000 Kentucky Turf Cup, a 1 1/2-mile race on Sept. 12, but Factor Again, with Shaun Bridgmohan riding again, is using the Ellis race as a stepping-stone to the Grade 1 Old Forester Turf Classic on the Kentucky Derby undercard Sept. 5.

Factor This was expected by Ellis racing officials to face Signalman, Hierarchy, and probably another six or seven older horses. The other stakes include a terrific renewal of the Tourist Preview, matching Spectacular Gem, Mr. Misunderstood, Hog Creek Hustle, and Dontblamerocket going a mile; the 5 1/2-furlong Ladies Sprint, headed by Morticia and possibly Change of Control; the one-mile Ladies Turf, marking the seasonal debut of Daddy Is a Legend; and the 5 1/2-furlong Sprint with a sizable, well-matched field.

Spectators are being permitted to attend the Ellis races amid the ongoing global pandemic, although tickets must be purchased in advance through ellisparkracing.com.

Anneau d’Or to Ellis Derby

Anneau d’Or, a disappointment since finishing a close second last fall in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, has joined the prospective lineup for the $200,000 Runhappy Ellis Park Derby on Aug. 9.

Art Collector, winner of the Blue Grass Stakes, figures as a heavy favorite in the 1 1/8-mile Ellis Derby, a 50-20-10-5 qualifier toward the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby. Other probable starters include Dean Martini, Major Fed, and Shared Sense.

The Ellis Derby will anchor the richest card of the meet. Four other stakes, all worth $100,000, also will be run, those being the Audubon Oaks, Groupie Doll, Juvenile, and Debutante. The seven-furlong Audubon Oaks is a 10-4-2-1 qualifier for the Sept. 4 Kentucky Oaks.

King Guillermo at Churchill

King Guillermo arrived Monday at Churchill Downs in Louisville following an overnight van ride from South Florida as the colt settles in for some five weeks of serious preparation toward the Kentucky Derby.

Victor Martinez, the retired

Major League Baseball slugger who owns King Guillermo under his Victoria’s Ranch banner, actually followed the horse van in his own vehicle before staying in town for a couple of days.

Juan C. Avila is the trainer of King Guillermo, the Tampa Bay Derby winner who finished second in a division of the May 2 Arkansas Derby in his latest start. He will be trying to win the Kentucky Derby off a layoff of more than four months.

Geroux back on Friday

Star jockey Florent Geroux is named in one race Friday at Ellis Park, marking his first ride since announcing he had tested positive for the coronavirus. Florent last rode on July 12.

Geroux once again ranks in the top 10 nationally in mount earnings this year with more than $5.7 million.

Meanwhile, a $40,000 thirdlevel allowance (race 5) for fillymare sprinters serves as the feature of a nine-race Friday card that starts at 12:50 p.m. Central. Irish Mischief is the 9-5 morning-line favorite for Cox and Bridgmohan. A second allowance goes as race 8.

McGaughey with a first

Reeve McGaughey, the 31-year-old son of Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey, recorded his first victory in his home state of Kentucky when he sent out first-timer Nathan Detroit to win a maiden-special turf mile last Saturday at Ellis for ownerbreeder Joe Allen.

The younger McGaughey worked for years behind the scenes as an assistant to his uncle Charlie LoPresti during the Wise Dan era, before working several years for his father. He opened his stable over the winter at Oaklawn Park, where he ran his first winner on March 19.

“I’ve grown up around it,” said McGaughey, but “I don’t think you’re ever completely prepared for when it’s your name in the program versus somebody else’s, just the responsibility of it. But I think we’re starting to get the hang of it now, hopefully.”

Court not through yet

Although he hasn’t ridden since June 30 and is actively soliciting customers in a new real-estate endeavor, 59-yearold jockey Jon Court says he isn’t ready to hang up his saddle yet.

“I’m just addressing some minor physical issues that require some time,” Court said this week. “I need to be 100 percent when I return.”

In the meantime, he said, “I am experiencing what retirement would be like – and I’m nowhere near ready for that.”

Court has ridden 4,184 winners in a career dating to 1980.

◗ With 10 of 25 summer programs at Ellis complete, Rafael Bejarano leads all jockeys with 12 wins and Dane Kobiskie leads all trainers with six wins.

COADY PHOTOGRAPHY Factor This wins the Wise Dan Stakes in his most recent start.