Good-sized fields in Wednesday turf allowances

Keeneland opens the final stretch of its spring meeting with an eight-race card Wednesday, and with three days remaining in the meet, plenty of horses are still looking to run. The card includes a pair of turf allowances and four maiden special weights, one of those for juveniles. Those six races have an average field size of 10.8 horses.

Heading into these final three days, both the jockey and trainer races also appear up for grabs. Javier Castellano leads the rider standings with 14 winners, but is a virtual certainty to be overtaken, as he is riding primarily in New York until Kentucky Derby week. Tied behind him with 12 winners each are Florent Geroux (five mounts Wednesday) and Joel Rosario (three), and next with 11 winners each are Luis Saez (five) and Tyler Gaffalione (five). Chad Brown (one entry Wednesday) leads the trainer standings with nine winners, followed by Brad Cox (one) with seven, and Wesley Ward (three) with six.

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Allowance action gets started early on the Wednesday card, as the second race is an $81,000 allowance for fillies and mares going a marathon 1 1/2 miles on turf. The race includes a pair of semi-recent European imports who have experience at longer distances. Lacustre won at 1 1/4 miles on synthetic in her final start in England last November. In her first start here for trainer Roger Attfield, she finished ninth in an allowance going 1 1/8 miles on Keeneland’s opening weekend. Dynabee, meanwhile, will be making her third start in the United States for Calumet trainer Jack Sisterson. The filly has won once from seven starts, but is the only one to have run at this 1 1/2-mile distance, with one second in two trips.

Tropical Wave has placed in races as far as 1 3/8 miles, while Gentle Ruler and Sapphire Jubilee are both placed at 1 5/16 miles. Sapphire Jubilee will have Gaffalione aboard Wednesday.

Allowance action also concludes the card, as the eighth race is another $81,000 turf allowance, this one at 1 1/16 miles. St. Denman and Fashion Decree are both facing winners for the first time off solid maiden wins in Florida. St. Denman’s victory on March 22 at Gulfstream, in his seventh career start, earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 84, the top last-out figure in this field, and among the best career numbers of these entrants. Saez was aboard him for the first time in that one-mile race, and he retains the mount for trainer Brendan Walsh.

Fashion Decree won his one-mile career debut by 3 1/4 lengths on Feb. 15 at Tampa Bay for trainer Ignacio Correas. He earned a Beyer of 78.