LEXINGTON, Ky. – The sun will not be shining bright on the old Kentucky home as Keeneland opens its spring meet Friday. The early focus will still be on the sophomores looking to run through April showers to May flowers.
Keeneland’s scheduled 15-day spring meet contains 19 stakes worth a record $9.4 million. Ten of those are scheduled for the first three days of the meet, chiefly, a pair of major 3-year-old preps for the spring classics. The Grade 1, $750,000 Ashland for fillies opening day and the Grade 1, $1.25 million Blue Grass, part of a blockbuster five-stakes opening Saturday card, offer points toward the Kentucky Oaks and Derby, respectively, on a 100-50-25-15-10 scale. The Ashland winner has been the Eclipse Award divisional champion three of the last seven years – Monomoy Girl (2018), Malathaat (2021), and Nest (2022). The Blue Grass, which had its purse bumped $250,000 this year, had winners earn divisional titles two of the last four years – Essential Quality (2021) and Sierra Leone (2024).
It is a near certainty that track conditions for these and other opening-weekend stakes will be less than ideal. Strong thunderstorms were expected to begin overnight Wednesday into Thursday, with much of Kentucky expected to be under severe weather warnings. Those kick off a period of heavy precipitation, with a strong chance of additional thunderstorms Friday and Saturday, and the rain continuing Sunday. Lexington is under a flood watch from Wednesday through Sunday, and Chris Bailey, chief meteorologist for local news station WKYT, said that the forecast map he drew up had the highest rainfall numbers in his 27 years of working locally.
As of Wednesday morning, Keeneland had not made any changes to the racing schedule.
“Keeneland is closely monitoring the weather forecast and our top priority remains the safety of our horses, participants, and patrons,” the track said in a statement. “If there are any changes to our operations, we will provide updates on Keeneland.com and our social media channels.”
The average field size for the first three days of the meet – bolstered by Kentucky’s large purses, subsidized by historical horse racing machines at tracks in state – was 11.7 entrants. There may not be that many betting interests when the gates open, particularly in scheduled turf races, which are a virtual certainty to be moved to the main track. One concern will be preserving the course for two Grade 1 turf stakes the second weekend of the meet – the $650,000 Maker’s Mark Mile on April 11 and the $650,000 Jenny Wiley on April 12. Field size and changes to the wagering menu would affect the handle; the popular Keeneland Turf Pick 3, which includes the final three turf races on each card, would be affected by moves to the main track.
Other regular events on the wagering menu for the spring meet include a daily double with a 15 percent takeout, and the Super High Five on the final race each day. The Saturday card includes all-stakes pick four and pick five wagers concluding with the Blue Grass. Additionally, that race will be linked to the day’s other major Kentucky Derby preps, the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby and Grade 2 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, in the “$3 Big 3 Pick 3.”
The Keeneland spring meet runs through Friday, April 25. The standard race week is Wednesday through Sunday, with the exception of Easter Sunday, April 20. First post is 1 p.m. each day, with the exception of closing day, when the first race is 12:30 p.m. to conclude the card in time for Keeneland’s April selected horses of racing age sale.
As at other recent Keeneland meets, advance ticket sales are required, and all paved parking areas are for reserved permit parking and free accessible parking only. Free public parking is available in popular tailgating areas, and Keeneland runs shuttles on the grounds.
This will mark the final meet that Keeneland’s new three-level paddock building, extending the entire length of the paddock and walking ring, will be under construction, thus impacting the grounds and entry. The structure, scheduled to open for the fall meet, includes new saddling stalls, jockeys quarters, additional ticketed areas and dining, access to a paddock lawn, and more.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.