Keeneland enjoyed its third consecutive year of record Spring Meet handle, bringing in an all-sources handle of $219,284,979 for its just-concluded Spring Meet. That handle was the largest total in the Kentucky track’s history. The more than $219 million from the 15-day meet that ended Friday represented a 33.16% increase […]
Tag: Blue Grass Stakes
Smile Happy, Zandon Set Themselves Apart in Blue Grass Stakes
Keeneland’s stop on the Kentucky Derby trail, the Blue Grass Stakes, headlines opening weekend at the Lexington, KY. track. But this edition of Saturday’s 1 1/8-mile Derby prep does so with a renewed prestige boost. Grade 1 status. The Blue Grass regained that status this year, putting it with the Santa Anita Derby, […]
Cross Country Pick 5 Goes High Stakes With Derby, Oaks Preps
One of the strongest New York Racing Association Cross Country Pick 5 offerings of the year awaits horseplayers this week. It presents an all-graded stakes sequence featuring two Grade 1s, two Grade 2s, and a strong Grade 3. And Kentucky Derby trail watchers, this wager is for you. Two of […]
Epicenter Your KDFW Favorite, Newcomer Messier Looms Large
The fifth and final Kentucky Derby Future Wager (KDFW) pool opens on Thursday with Louisiana Derby winner Epicenter the 5/1 favorite among the 23 individual and “All Other 3-Year-Olds” (aka The Field) choices. But, a newcomer to the pool should take plenty of money. That would be Messier, who makes […]
Graded Stakes Race Shuffling Deals Winning, Losing Hands to Races
One of the key factors in horseplaying from a class standpoint — the grading of stakes races – underwent its yearly review when the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association unveiled its annual listing of US Graded and Listed Stakes races. The new grades encompass […]
Keeneland Lays Out Record $7.7 Million in Spring Meet Stakes Purses
Fueled by purse increases to two of its flagship 3-year-old races, Keeneland is putting a record $7.7 million in purses into the 19 stakes races on its just-announced 2022 Spring Meet card. The Lexington, Kentucky track announced increases to all stakes purses for the April 8-29 meet. Prominent among those […]
Three Kentucky Derby Long Shots You Can Cross Off Right Now
Here’s what finding the right Kentucky Derby long shot means to your exotic tickets. Last year’s Kentucky Derby $1 trifecta paid $1,311.80, for which you can thank 46/1 Mr. Big News and his unobtrusive third-place finish. Let’s look at 2019, asterisk and all. The $1 trifecta, starring 65/1 Country House, […]
This Year’s Blue Grass Stakes Come Loaded With Essential Quality
The biggest problem horseplayers have with the Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes is not figuring out who will win. That essential question will likely be answered by 3/5 favorite Essential Quality. No. The biggest issue here is figuring out how to profit off a race where one horse is so […]
For Rombauer, the Grass is Greener in Baffert-Free Blue Grass
In his past life, John Fradkin, the owner of Kentucky Derby Trail runner Rombauer, was a successful institutional bond salesman for Citigroup. This means he understands the risk/reward dynamic as well as anyone. This, in turn, explains why Fradkin took the long way home for Rombauer. Instead of running him […]
Keeneland Springs Into Robust Stakes Slate for Spring Meet
The 97th running of the Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes and the 84th running of the Grade 1 Ashland headline Keeneland’s 2021 Spring Meet, which runs April 2-23 at the Lexington, Kentucky, track. The Blue Grass is one of the last Kentucky Derby preps. Last year, it featured a stellar […]
Hoof Injury Knocks Art Collector Out of Kentucky Derby
Expected to be a single-digit second favorite and the chief challenger to favorite Tiz the Law, Art Collector withdrew from Saturday’s Kentucky Derby due to a slight injury to his left front hoof. Trainer Tommy Drury, who was making his first career Kentucky Derby appearance with Art Collector, said that […]
Art Collector Becomes Hottest Object on Kentucky Derby Futures Board
Winning the Blue Grass Stakes made Art Collector the latest shiny object for Kentucky Derby bettors to focus on as his odds to win the Sept. 5 Run for Roses plunged across the board. On Circa Sports’ Kentucky Derby Futures Board, Art Collector sits at 7/1. He’s now the fourth […]
Swiss Skydiver Takes on the Boys, History in Blue Grass Stakes
Last month, Kenny McPeek was a coronavirus odyssey away from sending Swiss Skydiver to England for the 1000 Guineas. So why wouldn’t he turn the standout filly loose against the boys in Saturday’s Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland? “This has already been one of the weirdest years ever. […]
Swiss Skydiver Looking to Leap into Blue Grass Stakes
Will Swiss Skydiver run with the boys? Will the talented filly who doesn’t need Kentucky Oaks points enter Saturday’s Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland – a Kentucky Derby prep? Or will Swiss Skydiver enter the Grade 1 Ashland Oaks and tangle with her usual fellow filly suspects? These […]
Keeneland Receives Approval for Stakes-Packed Summer Meet
The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission unanimously approved Keeneland’s request to run a five-day, spectator-free summer meet in July, giving the Lexington racetrack back five days from its original 16-day spring meet. That meet became a casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic. Keeneland’s abbreviated meet is scheduled for July 8-12 and is […]