Ramseys make final push for Keeneland meet title

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Ken Ramsey is pulling out all the stops to ensure that he and his wife, Sarah, are the leading owners for a record 16th time at a Keeneland meet. Starting Wednesday, and with four days left at the 17-day fall meet, the Ramseys were tied atop the owner standings with John Oxley with five wins apiece.

“We’ve got him right where we’ve want him,” Ramsey said this week with his familiar guffaw. “We’re calling in all the troops.”

Indeed he is: After running two horses Wednesday, Ramsey is overrunning the Thursday program with nine horses, including one also-eligible. The last of those, Barrister Jim, is plunging in class in the ninth race, a $7,500 claiming route.

Barrister Jim was originally owned by Ramsey before being claimed away from him for $25,000 in July 2013. Ramsey reclaimed him for $32,000 at Saratoga in August and ran him for $40,000 in his last two races.

“I named him for Jim Elam, a very good friend who’s a prominent attorney in Lexington,” said Ramsey. “When I had the horse the first time around, we never got our picture taken in the winner’s circle, so Jim’s going to be with us Thursday, and we’re going to get it done then.”

According to statistics maintained by the track, Ramsey entered this week ranked second in career wins at Keeneland with 192, two shy of Will Farish.

◗ Oxley’s main trainer, Mark Casse, held a solid lead atop the trainer standings with nine wins entering the final four-day stretch of the meet, while the jockeys’ race was much tighter: Julien Leparoux and Corey Lanerie were tied entering Wednesday with 15 wins each.

Casse, a seven-time Sovereign Award winner in Canada, has been the leading trainer once before here (spring 2014).

As for mount earnings, Leparoux led with $1,040,618, followed closely by Geroux ($974,755) and Lanerie ($904,865).

◗ Wesley Ward would have preferred to breeze a handful of Breeders’ Cup prospects over the Keeneland turf last weekend, but in view of the use the course already has endured at this meet, track officials have been strictly limiting those works until more BC candidates are on the grounds for their final pre-race moves.

Judy the Beauty, the winner of the BC Filly and Mare Sprint last fall at Santa Anita, was among the Ward workers, going five furlongs Monday in 1:01.80 over a fast main track.

Ward said he actually contacted officials at Belterra Park about using their grass course, to no avail.

“They let me do it a few years ago, so I thought I’d give it a shot,” said Ward. “Given a choice, I’d rather breeze over grass, but it’s really not that big a deal.”

◗ Keeneland was listing at least 15 3-year-olds as probable entrants for the last stakes of the regular fall meet, the Grade 3, $150,000 Valley View on Saturday, with Include Betty, Mrs McDougal, and Sunset Glow among the list. Entries were to be drawn Wednesday.