No major changes to Keeneland fall stakes schedule

Officials at Keeneland Race Course on Monday released their stakes schedule for the 2016 fall meet with no substantive changes from the status quo.

The 17-day meet will run Oct. 7-29 and will be front-loaded, as usual, with major preps for the Breeders’ Cup being held on the opening FallStars Weekend, Oct. 7-9. In all, 17 stakes with $5,275,000 in purses will be run at the Lexington, Ky., track.

Eight of the nine FallStars races are Win and You’re In events toward the Nov. 4-5 Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita. That group of races includes five Grade 1 events led by the meet’s richest race, the $1 million Shadwell Turf Mile on Oct. 8. The sixth and last Grade 1, the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup, is set for Oct. 15.

“Many stars bound for the Breeders’ Cup will compete here, making Keeneland a key racing destination,” Keeneland racing secretary Ben Huffman said in a prepared release.