Limousine Liberal returns in allowance sprint

As often happens at Keeneland, there are terrific races besides the graded stakes on opening weekend. The Saturday undercard is particularly rich, with Limousine Liberal among those with stakes experience dipping into the allowance ranks.

Limousine Liberal finished second in the King’s Bishop and Gallant Bob last fall and shows a recent series of bullet works at Keeneland for trainer Ben Colebrook. The 4-year-old Limousine Liberal will be ridden by Luis Saez when making his return in the second race at 6 1/2 furlongs.

Rosario not ready yet

Three years ago, jockey Joel Rosario set a spring-meet record by riding 38 winners at Keeneland.

Rosario had hoped to ride at this meet after sustaining a fractured wrist in a Feb. 20 spill at Gulfstream Park, but his comeback has been delayed until “probably the weekend of April 23,” according to agent Ron Anderson.

The record for the most winners at any Keeneland meet is 45, set by Pat Day at the 1991 fall meet.

California invasion

In prior years, Santa Anita conducted racing well into April, but with the California racing calendar having been reconfigured for 2016, some of its top horsemen have forsaken Los Alamitos in favor of spending the rest of the month at Keeneland.

Gary Stevens, Mike Smith, and Drayden Van Dyke are some of the jockeys expected here next week, while Phil D’Amato, Doug O’Neill, and Peter Miller are among the trainers with stall allotments.

Extra scholarship offered

College Scholarship Day got a welcome boost for the Friday opener when Jim “Mattress Mac” McIngvale announced this week that he will be sponsoring a $10,000 scholarship giveaway. That’s in addition to 10 scholarships worth $1,000 apiece that will be raffled off between races. The biannual promotion is co-sponsored by the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association and Keeneland.