First 2-year-old allowance spices up Thursday card

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A couple of $97,000 first-level allowance sprints will serve as bookend co-features when another four-day race week at Churchill gets started with an eight-race Thursday program.

The opener on the eight-race card, which starts at 5 p.m. Eastern, is the first allowance for 2-year-olds on the circuit this year. John Hancock has the program favorite in the five-furlong race in Alec and Arthur, while his younger brother and fellow trainer Jack Hancock has the second choice in Secretly Wicked. Both horses were first-out maiden winners in April at Keeneland.

Some three hours later, fillies and mares will dash 5 1/2 furlongs on the turf in race 7. Brad Cox has an interesting newcomer to the circuit in a field of 10 in a French-bred filly named Africa, who was stakes-placed from three prior starts on this continent for her former trainer Chad Brown.

The highlight of the coming weekend at Churchill is the Grade 3, $125,000 Mint Julep, which will precede the Belmont Stakes simulcast Saturday. Limari will bring a four-race win streak into the 1 1/16-mile turf race as the likely favorite for Cox when she faces what Churchill racing officials expect will be six or seven other fillies and mares. Entries were to be drawn Wednesday.