As Turfway Park in Florence, Ky., prepares to bring its winter/spring meet to a close on Saturday, track officials at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky., have begun gearing up for their track’s opening next week, when Keeneland will run nine stakes over four days. Foremost among those stakes is the Grade 2, $1 million Blue Grass next Saturday, April 6. A leading prep race for the May 4 Kentucky Derby, it is shaping up to have a medium to large field led by Nashua winner Vekoma. Blue Grass Day will include four other stakes, all graded, with the Grade 1, $500,000 Ashland and the Grade 1, $300,000 Madison the most prestigious among them. Vekoma, third in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth in his seasonal debut March 2 at Gulfstream, is among nine horses considered probable for the Blue Grass by Keeneland stakes coordinator Tiffany Bourque, with the others being Admire, Dream Maker, Hoffa’s Union, Market King, Signalman, Sir Winston, So Alive, and Somelikeithotbrown. Mark Casse trains three of those horses – Dream Maker, Hoffa’s Union, and Sir Winston – and he could add another if he decides to start Our Braintrust in the 1 1/8-mile Blue Grass. Several other horses are considered possibilities by their trainers, Bourque said. Many of the prospects for the Blue Grass are set to work this weekend, including Somelikeithotbrown, the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby winner who will be attempting to win his first race on dirt in the Blue Grass. Trainer Mike Maker said Tuesday he had not decided whether to breeze him at Turfway over a synthetic surface or on dirt at Churchill Downs Trackside or Keeneland, where Maker also stables horses. Rain is expected Saturday for much of Kentucky. Knicks Go will bypass the Blue Grass but is a possibility for the Grade 3 Lexington at Keeneland on April 13, trainer Ben Colebrook said. Knicks Go, no better than fifth in three starts since a runner-up finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last fall, breezed five furlongs in 1:01.60 on Wednesday at Keeneland. He won the Breeders’ Futurity over the Keeneland main track last fall. The Blue Grass will be televised nationally on NBC Sports Network as part of a program that includes the Wood Memorial and Santa Anita Derby. The sister race to the Blue Grass, the Ashland at 1 1/16 miles, seems likely to draw a smaller field, though one larger in accomplishments. Champion filly Jaywalk, seeking to rebound from a fourth-place finish in the Grade 2 Davona Dale at Gulfstream on March 2, is the headliner and is expected to be joined by graded stakes winners Restless Rider and Feedback, plus a few others. Another champion, Shamrock Rose, is probable for Madison, a race at seven furlongs for older fillies and mares. She won the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at the seven-furlong distance last fall. Amy’s Challenge, Cathedral Reader, and Late Night Pow Wow are others being aimed for the Madison. The Grade 2 Commonwealth at seven furlongs, also on Saturday, is drawing horses from all over the country, even from as far away as New Mexico. Runaway Ghost, last year’s Sunland Derby winner who missed the 2018 Kentucky Derby due to a training injury, is coming to Kentucky for an early-spring campaign beginning with the Commonwealth and potentially followed by the Grade 1 Churchill Downs on Derby Day. Also expected for the Commonwealth are 2018 race winner Warrior’s Club and Limousine Liberal, who won the race in 2016 and 2017. The Keeneland meet opens next Thursday with a first post of 3 p.m. Eastern. The $100,000 Palisades Turf Sprint for 3-year-olds at 5 1/2 furlongs is the opening-day feature. First post for the remainder of the meet is 1:05 p.m.