Keeneland: Stately Victor brings class to allowance

Keeneland ends its 15-day meet Friday in Lexington with not only a terrific renewal of the Elkhorn Stakes, but also three allowance races that drew some recognizable names, most notably Stately Victor, winner of the 2010 Blue Grass Stakes. Remarkably, even with earnings of more than $900,000, Stately Victor is still eligible for the third-level restriction that governs the sixth race and is listed as the 8-5 favorite to go through that allowance condition when facing five other older horses for a $62,000 purse in the 1 1/8-mile Polytrack race.

In the other allowances, Zermatt has shown herself to be a Poly specialist and may rate the edge in Race 3, while an oversubscribed field of older turf horses is entered in Race 7, one of those wide-open betting races that have been a horseplayer’s delight throughout the meet.

Three maiden special-weight races in a variety of categories (races 4, 8, 10) and a starter-allowance (race 1) also are on tap for closing day.

Meanwhile, Julien Leparoux long ago put the jockeys’ race away, but the race for leading trainer was far more contested, with Wesley Ward holding a tenuous lead over several others in the waning days of the meet.