The best 17 days of Fall are over in the Bluegrass. Keeneland Racetrack, in Lexington, KY ended their Fall Meet yesterday on a high note filled with many records and new memories. It was a special meet filled with quality Thoroughbreds, trainers, jockeys and owners. An outstanding 31 horses that raced and trained at Keeneland this October are pre-entries for the Breeders’ Cup. The BC World Championships will be held at Del Mar in California on November 3rd and 4th. Final entries for each of the lucky 13 races will post tomorrow. Return to this same post for updates. For now, here is a bit more on the BC bound Thoroughbreds that came through Keeneland this month.
Keeneland, inagurated in 1936, is no stranger to worldly Thoroughbred talent. Located in The Horse Capital of the World, Keeneland’s auction house and racetrack are frequent doorways to BC entry and success. Annually, Keeneland graduates make their way to the BC races. The BC was born from the minds of central KY Thoroughbred breeders. In 1984 the BC races became a reality. Keeneland even hosted the BC races in 2015. This year the BC will take place, for the first time at Del Mar but Keeneland influence still figures in substantially.
This October, Keeneland featured 9 “Win and You’re In” series races. There are many pathways to the BC but the select “Win and You’re In” races are one way to receive an automatic berth into the various BC categories. The “Win and Your’e In” races at Keeneland this meet were as follows by the name of the race/category of berth/and the winner:
- Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix Stakes/Twin Spires Sprint/Whitmore
- Darley Alcibiades Stakes/14 Hands Winery Juvenile Fillies/Heavenly Love
- First Lady Stakes/Filly and Mare Turf/Zipessa
- Shadwell Turf Mile Stakes/Mile/Sudois
- Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes/Filly and Mare Sprint/Finley’sluckycharm
- Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity/Sentient Jet Juvenile/Free Drop Billy
- Dixiana Bourbon Stakes/Juvenile Turf/Flameaway
- Juddmonte Spinster Stakes/Longines Distaff/Romantic Vision
- J.P. Morgan Chase Jessamine Stakes/Juvenile Fillies Turf/Rushing Fall
Several other Thoroughbred pre-entries to the BC either also raced or trained at Keeneland this meet. November 3rd three BC races will be held at Del Mar. The pre-entry horses that Keeneland hosted this October are listed by race/and horse name when applicable:
- Longines Distaff/Romantic Vision
–Romantic Vision drew post 8 with 15-1 odds
- Juvenile Fillies Turf/Princess Warrior/Rushing Fall/Stainless/Ultima D/Moon Dash
–Rushing Fall took post 11 with a morning-line of 7-2, Ultima D is in at 5 with 12-1 odds, Moon Dash is in post 14 with 15-1 odds
- Las Vegas Dirt Mile/Imperative
-not entered
- Juvenile Turf/Flameaway/Tap Daddy/Admiralty Pier/Hemp Hemp Hurray/Golden Dragon –Flameaway is in the 11th with 20-1 odds, Tap Daddy is in post 15 and also 20-1, Hemp Hemp Hurray is in the 12 post with 8-1 odds
On November 4th there will be nine more races, with Keeneland trained or raced pre-entries as follows:
- Classic/N/A
- Mile/Suedois/Heart to Heart/Ballagh Rocks – Suedois is in post 8 with 6-1 odds, Heart to Heart is in the 2nd post with the same odds, 6-1 and Ballagh Rocks drew 11 with a 12-1 morning-line
- Filly and Mare Sprint/Finley’sluckycharm/Bar of Gold
–Finley’sluckycharm will break from post 9 with 6-1 morning-lineodds while Bar of Gold drew post 5 with 30-1 odds
- Longines Turf/Nezwaah/Oscar Performance
–Oscar Performance drew the final post, 14, with 10-1 odds
- Sentient Jet Juvenile/Free Drop Billy/Givemeaminit/Golden Dragon
–Free Drop Billy is in post 5 at 5-1 odds, Givemeaminit is right next to him in post 4 with a morning-line of 20-1and Golden Dragon drew post 10 with 30-1 odds - Turf Sprint/Bucchero/Hogy/Mongolian Saturday/Lady Aurelia
–Bucchero gathered post 11 with 12-1 odds, Hogy is in at post 10 and also 12-1,Mongolian Saturday drew the ninth with 20-1 odds and Lady Aurelia is in the third post with 5-2 odds
- TwinSpires Sprint/Whitmore
–Whitmore secured post 5 with a 15-1 morning-line
- Filly and Mare Turf/Zipessa/Nezwaah/Wuheida
–Zipessa is in post 4 with 20-1 odds, Nezwaah was assigned post 11 with the same 20-1 odds and Wuheida drew post 5 and also at 20-1
- 14 Hands Winery Juvenile Fillies/Gio Game/Heavenly Love/Princess Warrior/Stainless
–Gio Game scored post 4 with a 15-1 morning-line, Heavenly Love drew the rail (1) with 9-2 odds, Princess Warrior is in post 3 with 12-1 odds and Stainless is at post 6 with 20-1 odds
Furthermore, Keenland was the auction that produced 74 graduates that are pre-entries into the 2017 BC World Champions. Keeneland is the world’s largest Thoroughbred auction house and the 74th annual edition of the November Breeding Stock Sale will begin on 11/7/17.
I regret that I won’t make the trip to California to see the Breeders’ Cup this year. I will be watching and cheering at the television. It makes me happy that so much BC talent has come through my home track and sales ring. I wish the Keeneland connections some extra luck. I pray everyone ships safe and has a great ride. Look back for updates and new posts as the Breeders’ Cup countdown is on! As promised, I’ve added some updates in purple italics and watch for my new post on 11/3/17.
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