Saturday stakes draw big fields
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Big fields are the rule – with no exceptions – for the five stakes Saturday at Keeneland, which will be witnessed by a huge crowd.
The $1 million Shadwell Turf Mile, the richest race of the 17-day fall meet, actually drew 18 entries, but two were excluded and only as many as 14 can start. The other four Saturday stakes didn’t get quite as many entries, but no fewer than 10 were entered in any of them.
First post for the 11-race Saturday card is 1:05 p.m. Eastern, with the last race going at 6:24. In reverse order, this is the stakes lineup:
Grade 1, Shadwell Turf Mile (race 10): This critical Win and You’re In prep for the Breeders’ Cup Mile got perhaps the deepest field in its 33-year history. Heart to Heart, winner of the Grade 1 Maker’s 46 Mile here in the spring, drew post 5 in a stellar group that also includes Next Shares, Divisidero, Synchrony, Qurbaan, Analyze It, Voodoo Song, Almanaar, and Bound for Nowhere.
:: CLOCKER REPORT: Access daily workout analysis for the fall meet at Keeneland
Grade 1, $500,000 Breeders’ Futurity (race 9): Mind Control, a last-out winner of the Grade 1 Hopeful at Saratoga for Red Oak Stable, drew post 13 in a capacity field of 14 2-year-olds in this 1 1/16-mile prep for the BC Juvenile.
Grade 1, $400,000 First Lady (race 8): Chad Brown holds a very strong hand with the trio of A Raving Beauty, Off Limits, and Quidura in this one-mile prep for the BC Filly and Mare Turf. Dona Bruja, Valadorna, and La Sardane are among the opposition in a field of 10.
Grade 2, $250,000 Thoroughbred Club of America (race 7): Miss Sunset, winner of the Raven Run last fall, is back from California and faces Florida shipper Curlin’s Approval, Vertical Oak, Golden Mischief, and Chalon in this six-furlong prep for the BC Filly and Mare Sprint.
Grade 2, $200,000 Woodford (race 6): Bucchero, the Indiana-bred horse who won this 5 1/2-furlong turf race last year at 26-1, drew post 2 in a 12-horse field that also includes Holding Gold, Rocket Heat, Undrafted, Will Call, and Angaston. The Woodford starts off an all-stakes pick-five wager (races 6-10) with a $250,000 pool guarantee.
Entries for the three Sunday stakes were to be drawn Thursday. Those races are the Grade 1 Spinster, Grade 3 Bourbon, and the newly revived Indian Summer. NBC Sports will provide televised coverage Saturday and Sunday. Some 35,000 can be expected on hand Saturday amid sunny weather.
