Significant purse money will be on the line when live racing returns to Turfway Park on Wednesday, Dec. 4, for the start of the 2024 holiday meet, featuring maiden special weight purses of $80,000 and allowance races up to $86,000.

Owners, trainers and jockeys will compete for more than $7 million in purses offered in the holiday meet condition book, excluding extras and substitute races. The average daily purses across the 15-day meet is $467,793 which includes contributions from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund and is pending final approval from the Kentucky Horse Racing & Gaming Corporation.

Registered Kentucky-breds in maiden special weight races will run for $80,000, an increase from last year’s $70,000 purses. Allowance races will range from $82,000 to $86,000, up from last year’s purses of $72,000 to $80,000.

The stakes action is headlined by the new Turfway Park synthetic championships on Saturday, Dec. 14, featuring four $250,000 stakes, the Prairie Bayou, Holiday Cheer, My Charmer,and Holiday Inaugural. The $125,000 Gowell Stakes will close out the meet on Saturday, Dec. 28, ahead of the transition to the winter-spring meet on Wednesday, Jan. 1.

“We’re excited to offer top-tier racing opportunities at Turfway Park this winter and continue building on Kentucky’s strong year-round circuit,” said Tyler Picklesimer, director of racing and racing secretary for Turfway Park. “With a robust stakes schedule and attractive purses, Turfway is the place to be for winter racing.”

Turfway Park once again will partner with Claiborne Farm for the “Make Your Mare” series, following its successful debut last season. This three-race series offers fillies and mares the chance to earn future stallion credits as they compete in select stakes races. The top three finishers in each of the designated races, the Holiday Inaugural, the My Charmer Stakes and the $125,000 Likely Exchange Stakes on Jan. 11, will receive Claiborne Credits of $10,000 for first, $5,000 for second and $2,500 for third, which can be applied toward future stallion fees at the legendary farm.

Live evening racing will take place on a Wednesday-through-Saturday schedule, except Christmas Day.