Letruska sitting on go for Spinster
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Everything has gone to plan for Letruska since she won the Personal Ensign on Aug. 28. Now it’s just a matter of getting the 5-year-old mare through her final prep for the Breeders’ Cup Distaff when she runs Sunday as a heavy favorite in the Grade 1 Spinster at Keeneland.
Letruska, the clear leader of the filly-and-mare dirt division, has had two timed works at Keeneland since shipping here Sept. 19 from Monmouth Park. She’ll be looking for her sixth win from seven starts this year when facing Dunbar Road, Bonny South, Crystal Ball, Envoutante, and maybe a couple more in the 1 1/8-mile Spinster, for which entries were to be drawn Thursday.
The Spinster and a pair of 2-year-old races, the Bourbon and Indian Summer, end the FallStars Weekend schedule Sunday. The last Win and You’re In race of the meet is the Jessamine on Wednesday.
Turf Pick 3 makes debut
The new “Keeneland Turf Pick 3” with a minimum $3 increment and 15-percent takeout makes its debut Friday. The bet comprises the only opening-day races on turf, those being 2, 7, and 10.
For everyday purposes, standard rules apply to the Keeneland Turf Pick 3. After the sequence has gotten under way, a consolation payoff will be made in case a horse is scratched, with no migration to the post-time favorite; if a race is moved off the turf, it becomes an “all” for horses that run, with consolations paid on scratches. Even in the case turf racing is canceled before the sequence begins, the bet will still be offered.
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Powell the new starter
Jeff Powell, a former longtime starter at Gulfstream Park, is the new starter at Keeneland, replacing Scott Jordan, who continues to work at other Kentucky tracks, including Churchill Downs. Powell worked for many years in Florida and elsewhere and is in from Montana, where he was living the last couple of years while taking a hiatus from the track.
Powell is the third Keeneland starter since the 2019 death of Robert “Spec” Alexander, who held the job for some 35 years.
◗ Alan Sherman, best known for his work with California Chrome from 2013-17 as an assistant to his father, trainer Art Sherman, is stabled at Keeneland with his own horses for the first time. Sherman, who moved to Lexington about 18 months ago, said his father, now 83, is enjoying life back home in California while still tending to a stable of about seven horses at Los Alamitos.
◗ A one-hour autograph session of active and retired jockeys will be held Saturday adjacent to the paddock before the races (11 a.m. to noon). Proceeds will benefit the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund.