Brown going full speed ahead into Keeneland meet

Shipping in to run at Keeneland used to be a seasonal thing for Chad Brown. Today, it’s mostly just a matter of vanning horses east on Interstate 64 now that Brown has set up shop just down the road at Churchill Downs.

“We’ll be set up permanently in Kentucky from now on, not counting the winter,” Brown said early this week from his New York base. “We’ll swap horses in and out a little later on this summer, according to what’s happening at Saratoga, but otherwise we’re only looking to expand our presence in Kentucky.”

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Employing Whit Beckman as his top lieutenant, Brown enjoyed a productive spring meet at Churchill in Louisville, going 9-6-2 with 29 starters. With the five-day meet starting Wednesday at Keeneland in Lexington, Brown figures prominently in several of the 10 stakes to be run Friday through Sunday.

Three of the Brown horses could rule solid favorites in Grade 1 events – Raging Bull in the Maker’s Mark Mile on Friday, Rushing Fall in the Jenny Wiley on Saturday, and Guarana in the Madison on Saturday. In all, he intends to have six stakes starters while also being active in the maiden and allowance ranks.

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Brown said he currently has strings at both Churchill and Keeneland, but that’s only because of the live meet at Keeneland. He and Beckman will consolidate back to Churchill once this short meet ends, then go into something of regroup mode for a few weeks thereafter.

“As Kentucky Derby week gets closer, we’ll position ourselves ahead of some of the bigger races,” he said.

Among those already eyeing the Sept. 5 Derby Day card are Instilled Regard and Rockemperor, who could both return in the Grade 1 Old Forester Turf Classic following their 1-2 finish Saturday in the Grade 1 Manhattan at Belmont Park.

Starting with the 2009 fall meet, Brown, the four-time reigning champion trainer in North America, has won 30 stakes at Keeneland, easily the most during that time.