Anticipation builds for Keeneland opener

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The racing office and barn area were centers of heightened activity Monday at Keeneland, where excitement continues to build for a 17-day fall meet that begins Friday.

Per-day purses are expected to average $722,000, the highest in track history, at a meet that runs through Oct. 28.

“Everyone around here is looking forward to a fabulous meet,” said Ben Huffman, racing secretary at Keeneland since 2002.

As always, the front-loaded meet will begin with FallStars Weekend, comprising nine graded stakes over the first three days of racing – two Friday, five Saturday, and two Sunday. All are preps toward the Nov. 3-4 Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar, with all but one, the Woodford, being designated as Win and You’re In events.

The Friday opener will be anchored by the Grade 1 Alcibiades and Grade 2 Phoenix. Entries for that 10-race card were to be drawn Tuesday.

The richest race of the meet, the $1 million Shadwell Turf Mile, might well be one of the deepest, with the limit of 14 likely to be imposed. Lancaster Bomber, most recently second in the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile, was expected to arrive here Wednesday for trainer Aidan O’Brien as one of the likely favorites for the Shadwell.

The Shadwell is one of three Grade 1 races to be run here Saturday, along with the $500,000 Breeders’ Futurity and $400,000 First Lady. The other Saturday stakes are the Grade 2 Thoroughbred Club of America and Grade 2 Woodford.

Dona Bruja, runner-up in the Grade 1 Beverly D. in her last start, could be the horse to beat in the one-mile First Lady.

“This has been our goal ever since the Beverly D.,” trainer Ignacio Correas said while trackside Monday.

Saturday entries were to be drawn Wednesday. The Saturday crowd is expected to swell with thousands more out-of-town guests than normal, as Kentucky will host Missouri in a nighttime college football game at nearby Kroger Field as part of a Blue Grass sports doubleheader.