Sharing with you my fascinating discoveries about Thoroughbred racing, sales, fashion, food, beverage, tips and more.
Saratoga is happy to tie in Runhappy with the Travers and H. Allen Jerkens Stakes!
It is finally Kentucky Derby week! As most of you racing fans do, I spend my time, Always Dreaming (a current contender’s name) of a new Triple Crown winner. I watch the Kentucky Derby leaderboard, race by race, to see which 20 horses will get a chance at the Run for the Roses, the first jewel of the crown, the KY Derby! I have the great fortune that 3 of the prep races take place on my home track, Keeneland in Lexington, KY. Keeneland’s Spring meet wrapped on Friday and what a meet it was.
Continue reading “Keeping Up With Keeneland”
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The party is in Pennsylvania this weekend! As we inch ever closer to the 2016 Breeders’ Cup, much of the talent has gone north for the biggest day in racing that Pennsylvania has ever created. Parx Racing will host 12 races on Saturday, 9/24/16, including 3 stakes, the Gallant Bob Stakes, the Cotillion Stakes and the Pennsylvania Derby! A fan and friend attended Parx this time last year and shared her photos above.
Parx Racing and Casino is located in Bensalem, PA. The track originated in 1974 and it was called Keystone Racetrack until 1984. At that time, the name changed to Philadelphia Park until 2010 and then the name was changed again to Parx, as it is today. The combination of the stakes races, that take place at Parx this Saturday, will make PA Derby Day, the biggest purse day ever for this track. I met To Honor and Serve this past June. He won the PA Derby in 2011 and he holds the record finish time at 1:47:1. He is now a stallion at Gainesway Farm in Lexington, KY.
Gates open at Parx at 10 A.M. EST with the 1st race posting at 12:25 P.M.. Race 9 is the 1st stakes race of the day. It is the 25th running of the Grade 3, Gallant Bob Stakes, with a post time of 4:14 P.M. The Gallant Bob was inaugurated in 1979. It is a 6 furlong dirt race with a purse of $300,000. 12 horses are entered, listed by post:
Race 10 posts next, at 4:55 P.M. This is the 50th running of the Grade 1, Cotillion Stakes. The Cotillion was 1st ran in 1969. The 1 and 1/16th mile (8.5 furlongs) dirt race is for 3 year old fillies. It carries a purse of $1 million dollars. I’m a Chatterbox won in 2015. 6 fillies are entered. Keeneland’s September Yearling Sales Graduate, Carina Mia will race. Her banner as is the former winner’s, are shown in the photo above. The full field is listed by post position:
Songbird is the favorite. She is undefeated in 10 starts, 9 of which were graded stakes wins. She earned the 2015 Eclipse Award for Champion 2 Year Old Filly. That same year Songbird won the 14 Hands Winery BC Juvenile Fillies race.
Finally, race 11, posting at 5:45 P.M., is the 40th running of the Grade 2 Pennsylvania Derby! Inaugurated in 1979, this year’s PA Derby has it’s largest purse ever at $1.25 million dollars. The race is 1 and 1/8th miles (9 furlongs) on dirt for horses age 3. Frosted won in 2015. 12 horses are entered with the favorites being more Keeneland September Yearling Sales Grads, Exaggerator and Nyquist. The two have raced against one another 6 times prior. Kentucky Derby winner, Nyquist, won the 1st 4 times. Preakness winner, Exaggerator, has won the last 2 in the ongoing duel. The entire field by post is as follows:
There are still a few days left in the Keeneland sale where I have had the privilege of attending on several sessions. The sale ends Sunday, September 25th. I hope that the pictures I captured of the 2016 yearlings will be the Thoroughbreds that go on to race in favorite prep races for the BC like those happening at Parx this weekend. I will keep posting on the events I can make it to, like the sale, and I would appreciate some feedback from those who can make it to races I won’t be at this time, like the PA Derby Day. KY bred horses have won the PA Derby more than horses from any other state. I’m attending something pretty huge on Monday. Any guesses? I’ll let you know after I make the trip!
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