FLORENCE — The man who said fate owed him a Triple Crown and the jockey who nearly got it for him will appear at Turfway Park this weekend.

        It would be easy to dismiss as hype Turfway Park President Bob Elliston's glowing assertion that the “nation's attention will be focused” Saturday on the Kentucky Cup races to be run at the Florence thoroughbred track.

        Elliston is, after all, trying to entice patrons when business is down because of the popularity of Indiana's riverboat casinos.

        But then here comes renowned trainer Bob Baffert running five horses and jockey Victor Espinoza with a mount in the feature.

        Elliston may not be too far off in his comments.

        Many of racing's top trainers — Baffert, D. Wayne Lukas, Nick Zito, Kiaran McLaughlin, Shug McGaughey — have horses entered in Saturday's races, which features the $400,000 Kentucky Cup Classic.

        Jockeys riding Saturday include Hall of Famer Pat Day, who will be aboard Dollar Bill, and Mr. Espinoza, who rode War Emblem to victories in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness earlier this year. He will be riding Nothing Flat in the feature race.

        Since its inaugural run in 1994 the Kentucky Cup has become a prep race for the Breeders Cup World Thoroughbred Championship, which will be run Oct. 26 at Chicago's Arlington Park.

        There will actually be five Kentucky Cup Day of Champions races with purses totaling about $1 million. Gates open at noon, general admission is $3 and Mr. Elliston expects a crowd of 14,000 to 15,000.

        Last year's Kentucky Cup was held just three days after the 9-11 attacks and the same weekend as Cincinnati's Oktoberfest celebration.

        “This year there is no Oktoberfest, the Reds are on the road, the Bengals aren't at home and the weather looks like it is going to be pretty nice, so we're hoping for a good crowd,” he said.

        Since 1996, when riverboat casinos opened in along the Ohio River in Cincinnati, betting and attendance have fallen nearly 50 percent at Turfway. Elliston is hoping the Kentucky Cup provides a boost to the track's 22-day fall meet, which opened last week and ends Oct. 3.

        “This is a major league sporting event,” Elliston said. “The nation's attention will be focused on Turfway and this is a good opportunity for fans in this area to come and see the sports' best athletes.”

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