Kentucky Turf Cup

The Kentucky Turf Cup is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds and older, over a distance of $1 1/2$ miles on the turf, held annually in September at Kentucky Downs racetrack in Franklin, Kentucky, during their short turf meeting. The event currently carries a purse of $1,7000,000, which includes $400,000 from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund.

History
The event was inaugurated on 22 April 1990 as the Sam Houston Stakes on the first ever meeting at the new track, then the Duelling Grounds Racecourse. The race was in honor of Sam Houston, who took part in a duel on the site of where the racetrack is located near the border of Kentucky and Tennessee. The following year, the event was renamed the Sam Houston Handicap, and conditions were changed to a handicap.

In 1996 and 1997, the event was not held because the track was shut down and in bankruptcy proceedings.

When the track reopened in 1998, the race was renamed the Kentucky Cup Turf Handicap as part of the Kentucky Cup Turf Festival. In 2001, the event was classified as a Grade III.

In 2019, the purse was increased to $1,000,000.

In 2021, the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association upgraded the event to a Grade II. For the 2021 running, Kentucky Downs renamed the event The Calumet Turf Cup, which Calumet Farm sponsors. The event winner, Imperador, set a new track record for the distance of 2:25.70.

Records

 * Speed record
 * $1 1/2$ miles: 2:25.10 – Imperador (2021) (new course record)


 * Margins
 * $1 1/2$ lengths – Silverfoot (2005)


 * Most wins
 * 2 – Rochester (2002, 2003)
 * 2 – Da Big Hoss (2015, 2016)
 * 2 – Arklow (2018, 2020)


 * Most wins by an owner
 * 2 – Augustin Stable (2002, 2003)
 * 2 – Robert E. Courtney Jr. (2011, 2012)
 * 2 – Skychia Racing (2015, 2016)
 * 2 – Donegal Racing, Joseph Bulger & Peter Coneway (2018, 2020)


 * Most wins by a jockey
 * 4 – Florent Geroux (2014, 2016, 2018, 2020)


 * Most wins by a trainer
 * 5 – Michael J. Maker (2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022)

Winners
Notes:

† In the 2003 running, Art Variety was first past the post but was disqualified for interference in the straight and placed third. Rochester was declared the winner.