FLORENCE, Ky., August 18, 2011 – As it returns to the Turfway Park schedule under sponsorship by WinStar Farm, the WinStar Kentucky Cup Day of Champions will see some changes, including a change in distance and name for the day’s feature race and a new logo.

The Kentucky Cup Classic (G2), previously run at one mile and one-eighth, will run beginning this year at one mile and one-sixteenth. The race has been renamed the WinStar Kentucky Cup.

Said Turfway Park president Robert N. Elliston, “Recently, many in the industry have called for coordination between major race days to produce a prep schedule that makes sense to the wagering and racing public. There already exists an abundance of preps for the Breeders’ Cup Classic. With the change in distance, we believe the WinStar Kentucky Cup adds significantly to trainers’ preparations for the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile and Turf Mile races.”

The race has already produced a Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) winner in Furthest Land, who won that race in 2009 after prepping in the Kentucky Cup Classic that year, its most recent renewal.

The other four stakes races that complete the WinStar Kentucky Cup Day of Champions retain their original distances: the Juvenile Fillies at one mile; the Juvenile at one mile and one-sixteenth; the Distaff (G3) at one mile and one-sixteenth; and the Sprint (G3) at six furlongs.

The new logo for the WinStar Kentucky Cup Day of Champions nods to the familiar green and gold of the original logo but adds the WinStar name, the farm’s iconic star, and the head of a racing horse.

“WinStar’s sponsorship allowed us to bring this important series of races back to our schedule and to Kentucky racing,” said Elliston, “and we’re proud to have them front and center on the logo. The fact that the horse is racing forward is a fitting symbol of our joint commitment to bring these races back.”

The new logo was designed by PM Advertising LLC of Nicholasville, Ky.

The WinStar Kentucky Cup Day of Champions is scheduled for Sept. 24. Post time is 1:10 p.m.