The Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland Racecourse will be moved to a date four weeks prior to the Kentucky Derby and its purse will be raised to $1 million for the 2015 running, the track announced late on Friday.
At 1 1/8 miles, the Remsen is the longest race in which a 2-year-old can earn points toward the Kentucky Derby. This year’s running was contested over a track that significantly favored inside lanes throughout the day.
Texas Red, third behind American Pharoah and Calculator in the FrontRunner Stakes, took advantage of their absences, plus a wickedly fast pace that set up his stretch run, to win the richest race of the year for 2-year-olds, the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.
The Road to the Kentucky Derby took a detour across the border to Canada for the Grey Stakes, which was run on Polytrack and got a disturbingly low Beyer Speed Figure, so the overall quality of this race may be in question.
American Pharoah followed up his dazzling win in the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity 24 days earlier with an equally impressive victory in the FrontRunner, the West Coast’s final major prep for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.
A return to dirt at Keeneland for this meet helped lure a large field of 12 for Kentucky’s final major prep to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, to be run four weeks later Santa Anita. Carpe Diem dominated the field with a powerhouse effort.
Only six runners turned up for the Champagne, New York’s final major prep for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, run four weeks later at Santa Anita. This proved to be a big day for trainer Todd Pletcher, who won the Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland with Carpe Diem and this race with DAREDEVIL.
The Road to the Kentucky Derby kicked off a full eight months in front of the Run for the Roses, with the home of the Derby, Churchill Downs, staging this 1 1/16-mile race for 2-year-olds.
The mutuel field has closed as an odds-on favorite in Pool 1 of the 2015 Kentucky Derby Future Wager, with Dortmund the heaviest-backed individual interest.
Last fall, when Churchill Downs tried a future wager pool in late November for the first time, only one of the 23 separately listed horses eventually made it to the 2014 Kentucky Derby: Ride On Curlin, who ran seventh at 17-1. The “all others” option returned an all-time low of $3.60 for a $2 win bet.
