New stakes added to Keeneland fall stakes schedule

Officials at Keeneland Race Course on Tuesday released the stakes schedule for the 17-day fall meet with little change from the status quo, with the notable exception of a 10th Win and You’re In event toward the Breeders’ Cup.

As usual, the meet is front-loaded with key preps toward the Breeders’ Cup, which is set for Nov. 2-3 at Churchill Downs. In all, the stakes schedule comprises 18 races worth nearly $5.6 million.

The new stakes, the $200,000 Indian Summer, is a Win and You’re In toward the new Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint and has been integrated into FallStars Weekend, the opening three-day weekend (Oct. 5-7), during which the bulk of stakes action takes place. The Indian Summer will be run Oct. 7 at 5 1/2 furlongs on turf.

Staples of FallStars Weekend include the Grade 1, $1 million Shadwell Turf Mile on Oct. 6, and the Grade 1, $500,000 Spinster on Oct. 27. The other Grade 1 races are the Alcibiades on Oct. 5, and the First Lady and Dixiana Breeders’ Futurity on Oct. 6.

The sixth and final Grade 1 of the meet, the $500,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup, will be run Oct. 13.

Aside from the addition of the Indian Summer, the most notable tweak to the schedule involves the Oct. 10 Jessamine, which has been upgraded to a Grade 2 with a purse increase to $200,000.

“Year after year, Keeneland’s fall meet grows in stature, thanks to its lucrative purses and major stakes,” Bob Elliston, vice president of racing and sales for the Lexington, Ky., track, said in a media release.

The 17-day fall meet runs Oct. 5-27.