Keeneland opens for Fall Meet on Friday
Keeneland Race Course will open up for the annual Fall meet on Friday afternoon, as the track will commence four weeks of world class racing in Kentucky. Opening weekend is the annual Fall Stars weekend which will feature some huge races with massive Breeders’ Cup implications. Friday’s feature is the Grade 1 Darley Alcibiades for two year old fillies. My Conquestadory figures to get a lot of attention as she won her debut in smashing fashion, winning the Grade 2 Summer Stakes at Woodbine. Who’s In Town was almost a Grade 2 winner for trainer Michael Matz. She took the Adirondack up at Saratoga last time out, but was disqualified from the win and placed fourth for interference in the stretch run.
Wise Dan will look to keep his perfect 2013 campaign in order when he faces nine rivals on Saturday in the $750,000 Shadwell Turf Mile, which is the headliner of a huge card of racing. Wise Dan drew out in the number ten post and figures to have to chase down the horse who’ll break just to his inside in Silver Max. Silver Max has won three out of four races and looks like he could be the primary speed in this heat. Wise Dan could be sitting a few lengths behind Silver Max, but he should be set to pounce as he looks to repeat his title in this race. Willcox Inn finally put it all together last time out and got the win, albeit a narrow one in the Grade 3 Washington Park Handicap. He was second in this race last year and could be set to fire another big one, and though he might not win, he could easily jump up into the exotics.
The Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity drew a huge field as it usually seems to, most of whom are maiden breakers all looking to find out where they belong among the top two year olds. Solitary Ranger is a maiden breaker, but he broke it in the Grade 3 Arlington-Washington Futurity. He was second in a pair of maiden tries at Keeneland in the spring. Hungry Island might get a slight nod in the First Lady Stakes, but it’s a race that has little between the top four or five contenders. The TCA Stakes sees last year’s champ Groupie Doll returning to prep for the Breeders’ Cup. She’ll have to best five rivals, including Purely Hot, who she had to catch in the Presque Isle Downs Masters last time out. The red-hot Stormofthecentury looks to keep his win streak alive, after trouncing his rivals last time out in the Turf Monster at Parx.
Keeneland racing gets underway at 1:05pm EST and racing will be conducted on a Wednesday through Sunday schedule.
BetPTC.com Selections for the Shadwell
- Wise Dan
- Silver Max
- Willcox Inn
Longshot: Handsome Mike
BetPTC.com Selections for the Breeders’ Futurity
- Kendall’s Boy
- Solitary Ranger
- Conquest Titan
Longshot: Ready For Action
BetPTC.com Selections for the First Lady
- Hungry Island
- Better Lucky
- Daisy Devine
Longshot: Miz Ida
BetPTC.com Selections for the TCA
- Groupie Doll
- Judy The Beauty
- Purely Hot
Longshot: Gypsy Robin
BetPTC.com Selections for the Woodford Stakes
- Stormofthecentury
- Great Mills
- Pirates Vow
Longshot: Global Power
BetPTC.com Selection for the Alcibiades (Friday)
- My Conquestadory
- Maria Maria
- Rosalind
Longshot: Harlan’s Special
Indiana Derby makes it’s debut at Indiana Downs on Saturday
Indiana Downs will host the Indiana Derby for the first time on Saturday as the $500,000 event headlines a huge card. Grade 1 winner Power Broker has been tabbed as the morning line favorite for trainer Bob Baffert. Power Broker won the Easy Goer two starts back and ran second behind Verrazano in the Grade 1 Haskell. Martin Garcia, who won the Indiana Derby for Baffert with Lookin at Lucky. Holy Lute is a horse who’s getting a lot of buzz coming into the race as he’s lightly raced and won a hard fought edition of the El Cajon at Del Mar last time out. Edge of Reality and Uncaptured both come out of the Smarty Jones stakes, a race that Edge of Reality won. Edge of Reality has been doing a great job of racing at Parx, and will make the trek to Indiana Downs for the first time. Todd Pletcher will send over a pair of runners for the Indiana Derby in Midnight Taboo and Micromanage. They drew posts 11 and 12 respectively so they’ll have to overcome not only the post positions, but the steep class test.
The Grade 2 Indiana Oaks features what could be a single on many people’s tickets, as Fiftyshadesofhay looks to get back to her Grade 2 winning form. She tried the Grade 1 Alabama Stakes last time out and lost to Princess of Sylmar, who would be 1/9 in this race. Pure Fun is a Grade 1 winner and will be making her return to the races after being off since a sixth place finish in the Kentucky Oaks. She’s a deep closer, so she’ll need pace to run at, but this is an ambitious spot after the five month break.
BetPTC.com Selections for the Indiana Derby
- Bradester
- Holy Lute
- Edge of Reality
Longshot: Bad Hombre
BetPTC.com Selections for the Indiana Oaks
- Fiftyshadesofhay
- Seaneen Girl
- Fully Living
Longshot: Oscar Party
Grade 1 Santa Anita Sprint Championship headlines big Saturday in So. Cal
Santa Anita will offer up four stakes events on Saturday afternoon, headlined by the Grade 1 Santa Anita Sprint Championship. Goldencents will be the likely favorite as he’s taken pretty well to sprinting in the second part of the year. He’s ran a pair of good seconds in Grade 1 and Grade 2 events. Rafael Bejarano will take over the mount on Goldencents for the first time. Points Offthebench won the Grade 1 Bing Crosby over Goldencents last time out and he’s drawn just inside of Goldencents in the 7 hole. Adding intrigue to the race is last year’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner Trinniberg, who’ll be making his first start back at Santa Anita since that big win. Trinniberg got throttled in his first couple starts in 2013, but he looked much sharper when second in the Smile Sprint.
The undercard at Santa Anita features three stakes events, including the Grade 2 City of Hope Mile. Obviously has been utterly dominant and will use this as his final prep for the Breeders’ Cup Mile and a possible showdown with Wise Dan. The Santa Anita card gets underway at 4:00pm EST.
BetPTC.com Selections for the Santa Anita Sprint Champ.
- Trinniberg
- Goldencents
- Points Offthebench
Longshot: Gonna Fly Now
BetPTC.com Selections for the City of Hope Mile
- Obviously
- Barocci
- Endorsement
Longshot: No Jet Lag
Hawthorne Derby headlines Hawthorne’s opening weekend
Hawthorne Race Course will open up on Friday, but Saturday is the big event, with a special twilight first post of 6pm EST and the $200,000 Grade 3 Hawthorne Derby atop the menu. Infinite Magic is coming off a very strong second place showing in the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby last time out. Prior to that he took the American Derby at Arlington Park. He’ll be making his first start at Hawthorne in the Hawthorne Derby. Five Iron will be shipping in from Saratoga where he took the Grade 3 Saranac, which might be enough to make him favored in this spot. He’s won three in a row and seems to have found a new lease on life as a turf regular. Charming Kitten drew the far outside for Todd Pletcher and some of his best races put him right in the thick of things. Being by Kitten’s Joy he’s surely to love the grass and he’s able to get a distance of ground. The Saturday Hawthorne card gets underway at 6:00pm EST. Regular post time will be 3:10pm EST.
BetPTC.com Selections for the Hawthorne Derby
- Charming Kitten
- Five Iron
- Infinite Magic
Longshot: Moro Tap
Saturday Stakes Action at BetPTC.com
Delaware Park
Race 6 Polly’s Jet Stakes 3:45pm EST
Race 8 Buzz Brauninger Arabian Stakes 4:45pm EST
Race 9 Delaware Arabian Classic 5:15pm EST
Evangeline
Race 9 Opelousas Stakes 10:00pm EST
Fresno
Race 8 Charlie Palmer Stakes 7:45pm EST
Gulfstream Park
Race 7 Quality Road Stakes 4:14pm EST
Hawthorne
Race 3 Indian Maid Stakes 7:03pm EST
Race 5 Hawthorne Derby 8:04pm EST
Indiana Downs
Race 3 Hoosier Breeders’ Sophomore S. 2:47pm EST
Race 4 Richmond Stakes 3:14pm EST
Race 5 Hoosier Breeders’ Sophomore S. 3:39pm EST
Race 6 Gus Grissom Stakes 4:06pm EST
Race 7 TaWee Stakes 4:33pm EST
Race 8 Mari Hulman George Stakes 5:00pm EST
Race 9 Michael Schaefer Stakes 5:30pm EST
Race 10 Indiana Oaks 6:04pm EST
Race 11 Indiana Derby 6:50pm EST
Keeneland
Race 5 Woodford Stakes 3:14pm EST
Race 6 TCA Stakes 3:45pm EST
Race 7 First Lady Stakes 4:17pm EST
Race 8 Breeders’ Futurity 4:49pm EST
Race 9 Shadwell Turf Mile 5:21pm EST
Lone Star
Race 7 Dash For Cash Juvenile 9:59pm EST
Race 8 Dash For Cash Derby 10:23pm EST
Race 9 Dash For Cash Futurity 10:47pm EST
Monmouth Park
Race 5 Jersey Juvenile 2:45pm EST
Santa Anita
Race 2 Swingtime Stakes 4:30pm EST
Race 4 City of Hope Mile 5:30pm EST
Race 7 LA Woman Stakes 7:00pm EST
Race 9 Santa Anita Sprint Championship 8:00pm EST
Turf Paradise
Race 8 Bienvenidos Stakes 5:49pm EST
Woodbine
Race 8 Manzarine Stakes 4:24pm EST