Massive exotic payouts have been the story throughout the Winter/Spring Meet at Turfway Park Racing and Gaming and bettors will be able to dive into large pools for Saturday’s Jeff Ruby Steaks Day that features three Pick 5s and four Pick 4s offered on the extensive wagering menu.
Saturday’s 13-race program at Turfway Park, which has a special early post time of 12:45 p.m. (all times Eastern), will showcase a total of six stakes events headlined by the $700,000 Jeff Ruby Steaks (Grade III), a Championship Series event on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. The card will also include the 42nd running of the $300,000 Bourbonette Oaks (Listed); the 24th running of the $300,000 TwinSpires Kentucky Cup Classic (GIII); the 38th running of the $250,000 Animal Kingdom Stakes; the 42nd running of the $250,000 Latonia Stakes and the 37th running of the $250,000 Rushaway.
Along with the six stakes contests, the program will offer four maiden special weights and three allowances. The average field size in the body of each race is a whopping 11.3 horses.
The wagering menu comprises an all-stakes sequence for the 20-cent Single 6 (Races 7-12), late Pick 5 (Races 8-12) and late Pick 4 (Races 9-12). There will be an additional early Pick 5 (Races 1-5) and middle Pick 5 (Races 4-8), as well as an early Pick 4 (Races 2-5), middle Pick 4 (Races 5-8) and the “get out” Pick 4 (Races 10-13).
In 2023, the 50-cent Late Pick 5 pool on Jeff Ruby Steaks Day (Races 8-12) totaled a whopping $735,734 and returned a stout $1,840 capped by 5-2 favorite Two Phil’s winning the Jeff Ruby Steaks.
Aside from a robust wagering menu at Turfway Park, fans can bet on the special Bayou Bluegrass 5 – a two-track, $1 Pick 5 featuring all stakes races from Fair Grounds and Turfway Park.
The sequence will begin at Fair Grounds in Race 9 for the $500,000 New Orleans Classic presented by Relyne GI by Hagyard (GII) at 5:04 p.m. (all times Eastern). The second leg will switch to Turfway Park for the $300,000 Bourbonette Oaks with a scheduled post time of 5:43 p.m. Then, the third leg will go back to Fair Grounds and feature the $400,000 Fair Grounds Oaks presented by Fasig-Tipton (GII) at 6:12 p.m. The Jeff Ruby Steaks will be the penultimate leg of the bet at 6:25 p.m. and it will close at Fair Grounds for the Louisiana Derby at 6:46 p.m.
Below is the complete wagering menu for Jeff Ruby Steaks Day:
Saturday’s $700,000 Jeff Ruby Steaks (Grade III) will be shown as part of NBC Sports’ Road to the Kentucky Derby coverage and will air in a one-hour broadcast window on CNBC from 6-7 p.m.
The broadcast will include action from Fair Grounds for the $1 million TwinSpires.com Louisiana Derby (GII) and $400,000 Fair Grounds Oaks (GII).
NBC Sports’ coverage from Turfway Park and Fair Grounds will also be shown on Peacock.
Turfway Park Racing and Gaming
