Churchill meet begins Thursday

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Stalls at Churchill are being replenished ahead of a 12-day dirt-only meet that begins Thursday with an eight-race twilight card. Horses and stable employees began filtering back in from various summer venues on Wednesday, with training on the dirt resuming the following morning.

A revised stakes schedule to reflect the unavailability of the turf course begins Saturday night with five stakes, led by the Grade 3, $400,000 Locust Grove for fillies and mares and a pair of Grade 3 fixtures for 2-year-olds, the $300,000 Iroquois and $300,000 Pocahontas. The 2-year-old stakes are Win and You’re In events toward their respective Breeders’ Cup races as well as the first qualifying points races toward the 2022 Kentucky Derby and Oaks.

The most important of 11 stakes at the September meet figures to be the Grade 3, $400,000 Lukas Classic on Oct. 2. The 1 1/8-mile race will be the final prep for the BC Classic for Knicks Go.

The meet runs through Oct. 3, with Keeneland starting Oct. 8. Opening-day entries will be drawn Monday.