LEXINGTON, Ky. – Older horses going a distance of ground will occupy the spotlight Saturday at Keeneland in a pair of graded races, the Grade 2 Elkhorn on turf and the Grade 3 Ben Ali on the main track. The $350,000 Elkhorn will be run at the three-turn distance of 1 1/2 miles, with the $300,000 Ben Ali going 1 1/8 miles around two turns. Keeneland racing officials over the weekend were listing at least seven prospective starters for the 38th Elkhorn, although probably a few more will surface. The 9-year-old Red Knight, a last-out winner of the 1 1/2-mile W.L. McKnight on the Jan. 28 Pegasus World Cup card at Gulfstream Park, is among those confirmed. The turf-course maximum is 12. The 92nd Ben Ali will have Skippylongstocking and Pioneer of Medina, both Grade 3 winners already this year, as likely favorites in a lineup also expected to include Call Me Fast, Trademark, Zozos, and a few more. Warm and dry weather has been the rule for much of a spring meet that began April 7, but a sharp turn is in the forecast for Saturday with an 80 percent chance of rain and a high of just 59. Meanwhile, eight fillies and mares are entered in the first stakes of the week, the Grade 3, $300,000 Doubledogdare on Friday. Interstatedaydream, third behind Secret Oath and Clairiere in the March 11 Azeri at Oaklawn Park, will have Florent Geroux aboard when vying for favoritism with Green Up (Irad Ortiz Jr.) in the 1 1/16-mile race. Last Saturday, Clairiere edged Secret Oath in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom at Oaklawn. :: Bet Keeneland with Confidence: Get DRF PPs, Picks, and Betting Strategies. Shop Now.  After Saturday, only the closing-day Bewitch Stakes on April 28 will remain on the spring stakes schedule. The 2022 Bewitch winner, War Like Goddess, has been working steadily at Payson Park toward her 6-year-old debut after being an Eclipse Award finalist in the filly-mare turf division last year. Churchill Downs opens its spring meet April 29 with a night program. A late bloomer It’s not often that you see a 6-year-old win its career debut – especially at Keeneland – but that’s exactly what a gelding named Hocus did Sunday in the third race. Drawn in off the also-eligibles list and ridden by Declan Cannon, the son of Archarcharch shot straight to an open lead from his far outside post and was never challenged in capturing the $20,000 maiden-claiming sprint by four lengths, earning a 65 Beyer Speed Figure. Hocus was bred by his owner-trainer, Mike Thompson, who has spent his entire adult life in various backstretch capacities. Thompson ran his first winner in the summer of 1977 at Ellis Park, shortly after graduating that May from St. Xavier High School, located less than four miles from Churchill in Louisville. “Simple stuff just kept going wrong with the horse, and I had to keep pushing back his first start,” said Thompson. “He can run a little bit.” ◗ Barber Road, who earned an 85 Beyer in getting through his first allowance condition Saturday, could run back in a second-level allowance at Churchill or maybe in the May 19 Pimlico Special, said trainer John Ortiz. Barber Road finished sixth at 60-1 in the 2022 Kentucky Derby. Another allowance winner Saturday with a 79 Beyer was Tarabi, who will be pointed to the June 17 Bed o’ Roses at Belmont Park, said trainer Cherie DeVaux. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.