Tag: Keeneland

Flippant goes from this Listed Virginia Oaks victory to Saturday's Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland. (Image: Coady Photography)

This QE II Challenge Cup Contender is Certainly Flippant

It was in the genes that Flippant would run her first two races on dirt. After all, that’s what Tapit offspring do. They run on dirt. Often, quite well on dirt, as we’ve seen with the likes of Belmont and Travers winner Essential Quality, among numerous others. But Flippant flipped […]

Five-time Group 1 champion Palace Pier is one of the favorites for the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, offering a Breeders' Cup Mile berth to its winner. (Image: British Champions Series)

But Wait … There’s More Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series Races in the UK

The Breeders’ Cup added two final Challenge Series races on Tuesday, giving “Win and You’re In” berths to the winners of Saturday’s Champion Stakes and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at England’s Ascot Racecourse. Those two races are part of British Champions Day, one of the richest days in British racing, […]

Letruska captured August's Grade 1 Personal Ensign by a half-length overe Bonny South. The two, along with fourth-place Dunbar Road, tangle again in Sunday's Grade 1 Spinster at Keeneland. (Image: NYRA/Coglianese Photos)

Letruska Looms Large and in Charge Over Her Spinster Stakes Rivals

When it comes to running against Letruska, Kenny McPeek – who sends Envoutante against the standout mare in Sunday’s Grade 1 Spinster — summed up the frustration he and his fellow trainers face. “That’s the thing,” McPeek told the Daily Racing Form. “If you try to run with her early, […]

Althiqa, seen here winning the Grade 1 Just A Game at Belmont Park in June, will be a popular choice for bettors in the Grade 1 First Lady Stakes at Keeneland. (Image: Godolphin)

Breeders’ Cup Challenge Pick 6 Wager Returns With Some Familiar Names

The Breeders’ Cup Challenge Pick 6 wager returns Saturday, incorporating Keeneland’s opening weekend with Belmont Park to create an intriguing handicapping puzzle featuring familiar names. This is the second version of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Pick 6, which mandates bettors pick winners from each of six Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series […]

Order of Australia returns to the scene of his 73/1 shocker in last year's Breeders' Cup Mile. He headlines the field for Saturday's Grade 1 Keeneland Turf Mile. (Image: Coady Photography)

Is Another Upset In Store for Order of Australia’s Keeneland Return?

It took two horses dropping out to get Order of Australia into the Breeders’ Cup Mile last fall. Then, once he was in the then-3-year-old son of Australia went off at a dismissive 73/1. A tick over 93 seconds later, bettors holding Order of Australia win tickets weren’t dismissive. Not […]

Penny Saver's 9 1/2-length blowout of a Churchill Downs maiden special weight field makes her the filly to watch in Friday's Grade 1 Alcibiades Stakes at Keeneland. (Image: Coady Photography)

Deep Alcibiades Goes a Long Way Defining Who is the Top Juvenile Filly

Last year, Kenny McPeek watched Simply Ravishing and Crazy Beautiful turn in stunning performances in the Alcibiades at Keeneland. That he watched his 2-year-old duo go 1-2 in the Grade 1 race while at Pimlico was a minor annoyance. McPeek, like everyone else coping with the pandemic, could handle minor […]

For its Fall Meet, Keeneland introduced a new Pick 3 for bettors: the Turf Pick 3. Just choose the winners of the day's last three turf races. (Image: Keeneland)

Keeneland Gets Deep in the Grass with New Pick 3 Wager

Before its Fall Meet begins next Friday, Keeneland unveiled a wagering menu that features new contests and a twist on the Pick 3 – the Keeneland Turf Pick 3. The Keeneland Turf Pick 3 requires that bettors pick the winners of Keeneland’s final three turf races each day. It comes […]

Keeneland's Fall Meet doesn't leave much to the imagination. It packs a hefty stakes punch: 22 stakes races ini 17 days. (Image: Twitter/Keeneland)

Keeneland Opens a Record Stakes Purse for 2021 Fall Meet

Keeneland will celebrate its 85th anniversary by rolling out a meet-record $6 million in stakes purses – with an expanded 22 stakes events — in its 17-day Fall Meet this October. Along with those extra stakes – including two new ones for 2-year-olds – Keeneland is restoring all of its […]

After a year's hiatus due to the pandemic, Wesley Ward returned to his native habitat: winning Keeneland training titles. With 20 victories, the conditioner won his seventh Keeneland Spring Meet title. (Image: Coady Photography)

Keeneland’s Spring Meet Hops Into the Books With Strong Handle

Despite selling limited tickets for its 15-day Spring Meet, Keeneland’s just-concluded meet brought a 7.55% handle increase from its 2019 numbers. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic scrubbing Keeneland’s 2020 Spring Meet, 2019 represents the last comparable year. Headlined by Essential Quality’s Blue Grass Stakes victory, Wesley Ward’s seventh training title […]

Hit the Road scored his first Grade 1 win in last month's Frank E- Kilroe Mile at Santa Anita. He goes East in search of No. 2 in Friday's Maker's Mark Mile at Keeneland. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Turf Terror Hit the Road Goes East in Search of Maker’s Mark Mile

Hit the Road allows Dan Blacker to call himself a Grade 1-winning trainer. He also allows Blacker the luxury of having “the right horse” for a course, like in the Grade 1 Maker’s Mark Mile. And, Hit the Road allows Blacker the luxury of hitting the road – taking his […]

Joel Rosario and Kimari captured the Grade 1 Madison Stakes -- one of Rosario's four stakes wins and five overall. during Keeneland's opening weekend. (Image: Keeneland Photo)

Hot Jocks: Rosario and Saez Become Kings of Keeneland Riders

When horseplayers looking for another angle or trend fixate on Keeneland, they’ll discover Joel Rosario and Luis Saez are the go-to riders — at least in the early going. Over the first two days of Keeneland’s Spring Meet, Rosario (seven) and Saez (six) combined to win 13 races. The pair […]

Bohemian Frost became the answer to a trivia question when she won the first 2-year-old race of 2021 Friday at Keeneland. (Image: Keeneland/Coady Photography)

Who’s Up Next? Keeneland Plays Host to First 2-Year-Old Races of 2021

Lost in the wash of Keeneland’s opening day of its Spring Meet and Saturday’s three key Kentucky Derby preps across the country was a milestone on the racing calendar. Keeneland opened its 2021 Spring Meet with the first 2-year-old race of 2021. That honor went to Gulfstream Park last year. […]

By the time Essential Quality finds the stretch, few of his pursuers are this close. He enters Saturday's Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland as the 3/5 morning-line favorite. (Image: Coady Photography)

This Year’s Blue Grass Stakes Come Loaded With Essential Quality

The biggest problem horseplayers have with the Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes is not figuring out who will win. That essential question will likely be answered by 3/5 favorite Essential Quality. No. The biggest issue here is figuring out how to profit off a race where one horse is so […]

Simply Ravishing won her first three races, including this victory in the Alcibiades. After missing the board twice, she seeks a return to that form in Saturday's Grade 1 Ashland Oaks at Keeneland. (Image: Keeneland Photo)

Ashland Oaks Grows Another Filly Rivalry: Malathaat vs. Simply Ravishing

The Grade 1 Ashland Oaks is following the path of this year’s Kentucky Oaks prep races, which involves pitting two standouts against each other in a makeshift regional rivalry. You had Travel Column and Clairiere in the Fair Grounds Oaks in Louisiana. Beautiful Gift and Moraz tangle at Santa Anita […]

Rombauer's furious El Calmino Real Derby stretch drive brought him his first stakes title by a nose over Javanica. But the Southern California colt is in deeper Derby prep waters in this weekend's Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland. (Image: Golden Gate Fields)

For Rombauer, the Grass is Greener in Baffert-Free Blue Grass

In his past life, John Fradkin, the owner of Kentucky Derby Trail runner Rombauer, was a successful institutional bond salesman for Citigroup. This means he understands the risk/reward dynamic as well as anyone. This, in turn, explains why Fradkin took the long way home for Rombauer. Instead of running him […]

Keeneland offers 10 turf stakes races on its 15-day Spring Meet. It begins April 2 and runs through April 23. (Image: Coady Photography)

Keeneland Springs Into Robust Stakes Slate for Spring Meet

The 97th running of the Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes and the 84th running of the Grade 1 Ashland headline Keeneland’s 2021 Spring Meet, which runs April 2-23 at the Lexington, Kentucky, track. The Blue Grass is one of the last Kentucky Derby preps. Last year, it featured a stellar […]

Officials a the Red Mile Casino in Lexington turned off their HHR machines last weekend. A state senator plans filing a bill to legalize the machines when Kentucky's General Assembly opens 
 next week. (Image: The Red Mile)

Kentucky State Senator Will File HHR Legalization Bill Next Week

As one major racetrack shuttered its Historical Horse Racing (HHR) machine parlor, Kentucky State Sen. John Schickel (R-Union) said Thursday he authored a bill supporting legalization of the machines. Schickel, whose district includes Churchill Downs Inc.-owned Turfway Park, told WTVQ-TV he plans on filing the bill when the legislative session […]

Saudi Prince Khalid bin Abdullah created a breeding powerhouse on both sides of the Atlantic. One of the most respected owners and breeders in the world, Prince Khalid died Tuesday at 83. (Image: Trevor Meeks)

Powerhouse Owner, Breeder Prince Khalid bin Abdullah Dies at 83

Tributes from all over the racing world poured in Tuesday, remembering Prince Khalid bin Abdullah, who died Tuesday of undisclosed causes. The Saudi prince and nine-time Eclipse Award winner as owner and breeder was 83. A member of the Saudi Royal Family, Prince Khalid owned Juddmonte Farms, which announced the […]

Expo Gold, in foal to multiple Grade 1 winner Catholic Boy, sold for $950,000. She is better known as the dam of Preakness Stakes champion Swiss Skydiver. (Image: Keeneland)

Keeneland November Sale Brings Stability, Slight Dip to Sales Market

One of the biggest horse sales in North America, the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, ended its 10-day run Wednesday with a modest, COVID-19-related drop in sales from 2019. At the same time, nine horses sold for at least $1 million each. The Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale is one […]