Blue Grass | Horse Racing Free Tips

Thoroughbred Idea Foundation: Charity Summer Prop Contest Begins On Blue Grass Stakes Day

The summer is upon us, and the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation's Summer Prop Contest benefiting backstretch support organizations is now open and running for the next eight Saturdays. But on this #FreeDataFriday, we wanted to take the opportunity to highlight more success in the campaign to provide customers with actual free data!

Coming in the form of free programs, complete with past performances, and following the lead of Churchill Downs in their recently completed spring/summer meet where they offered free past performances, Keeneland is doing the same for their one-off summer meet. The Lexington track, which opened its short stand on Wednesday, is publishing a file which contains its full program and another with just the past performances.

To access Keeneland's programs, CLICK HERE.

The 2020 TIF Summer Prop Contest commences this week with Keeneland's Toyota Blue Grass Stakes Day taking top billing. Rick Hammerle, winner of the 2019 contest has set the 12 props for this week's contest.

CLICK HERE to enter Week 1 of the TIF Summer Prop Contest

A player's top four scores will count towards the overall standings, so it is OK if you miss a week but increases the likelihood of a better score the more you play. The 2019 contest was decided by just one point in the final week.

The top three finishers each week will get to choose amongst three backstretch development charities which will receive donations. The overall top three finishers in the contest will do the same, and enjoy bragging rights. This summer's beneficiaries include the Backside Learning Center at Churchill Downs, the Belmont Child Care Association and the Edwin J Gregson Foundation, based in southern California. Click on each of their names to learn more about them.

Below are the props that contestants will face. Print this keep record of your selections. We will publish the results on Monday and the top three finishers each week will be contacted by email late Saturday or on Sunday.

1. The name of the horse that wins the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes starts with the letter:

A through L
M through Z

2. Which horse will have the better finishing position in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes?

#3 ART COLLECTOR
#8 BASIN
#12 ENFORCEABLE

3. What will be the closing odds, according to the final Equibase chart of the race, for Toyota Blue Grass Stakes morning line favorite Swiss Skydiver?

At 3-1 or higher
Lower than her morning line price of 3-1

4. Will a horse that starts from post position #1 (according to the final Equibase chart) win a race on Saturday at Keeneland?

YES
NO

5. Which daily double will pay more on Saturday at Keeneland?

Races 1 & 2
Races 5 & 6
Races 9 & 10

6. Which will pay more on Saturday at Keeneland?

The early pick five (Races 1-5)
The late pick five (Races 5-9)

7. Which of the non-stakes races at Keeneland on Saturday will yield the highest PLACE price?

Race 1
Race 2
Race 3
Race 10

8. HEAD TO HEAD: Which horse will have the better finishing position in the Central Bank Ashland Stakes?

#3 BONNY SOUTH
#5 TONALIST'S SHAPE

9. HEAD TO HEAD: Which horse will have the better finishing position in the Coolmore Jenny Wiley Stakes?

#2 JULIET FOXTROT
#8 TOINETTE

10. According to the final Equibase charts of the race, how many wagering favorites will win on Saturday at Keeneland?

No favorites will win
1 or 2 favorites
3 or 4 favorites
5 or more

11. What will be the number of races on Saturday at Keeneland when the winning margin is a neck or shorter (according to the final Equibase charts of each race)?

Over 2 ½ races
Under 2 ½ races

12. What is the sum of the finishing positions of the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes starters who were most recently sold in auctions at Keeneland (#6 Hard Lighting, #7 Swiss Skydiver, #8 Basin, #9 Attachment Rate, #11 Hunt The Front)?

Over 35.5
Under 35.5

TIEBREAKER: What will be the $0.50 trifecta payout in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes?

CLICK HERE TO ENTER WEEK 1 – TIF SUMMER PROP CONTEST

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Weekend Lineup: Keeneland In July, Opening Weekend At Del Mar

This weekend features a unique edition of the Keeneland meet as the Lexington track runs spectator-free through July 12. The track's marquee Kentucky Derby prep race, the Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes, is one of six graded stakes on Saturday's card and offers 170 points toward qualification to this year's Derby with 100 points going to the winner, 40 to the runner-up, 20 to third place and 10 points to fourth.

TVG will be live on site at Keeneland for each day of the track's Summer Meet and will feature exclusive coverage of the Blue Grass Stakes on July 11. The network will also be live from Del Mar this weekend as the track kicks off its summer meet on July 10. TVG will again partner with NBC Sports on Sunday as “Trackside Live” will be simulcast from 5 p.m. ET to 7 p.m. ET featuring the Grade 2 Elkhorn Stakes from Keeneland.

Racing for the closing weekend at Belmont Park will be featured on the Fox Sports show “America's Day at the Races,” running through July 12 on either FS1 or FS2.

Friday July 10

4:24 p.m.—$100,000 Grade 3 Beaumont Stakes at Keeneland on TVG

JoAnn and Alex Lieblong's Wicked Whisper, winner of last fall's Grade 1 Frizette Stakes at Belmont Park, will make her 2020 debut Friday when she headlines the Beaumont Stakes, which will be run over 7 furlongs, 184 feet and offers 34 points toward the Kentucky Oaks on a 20-8-4-2 scale to the top four finishers. Trained by Steve Asmussen and to be ridden by Joel Rosario, Wicked Whisper has not raced since finishing fifth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita. She will break from post position four.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/KEE071020USA7-EQB.html

4:57 p.m.—$300,000 Grade 1 Maker's Mark Mile Stakes at Keeneland on TVG

Peter Brant's Raging Bull (FR), winner of the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile in his most recent start, headlines a field of 10 entered for the Maker's Mark Mile, the first of four Grade 1 races during the five-day Summer Meet. Trained by Chad Brown, Raging Bull returns to Keeneland, where he finished fourth in last year's Maker's Mark Mile. A two-time Grade 1 winner, Raging Bull will be ridden by Joel Rosario and break from post position four. Brown also trains Without Parole (GB), who finished third in the Shoemaker Mile. Owned by John Gunther and his daughter Tanya Gunther, Without Parole finished third in last year's Breeders' Cup Mile in his U.S. debut. In 2018, Without Parole won the Group 1 St. James's Palace at Royal Ascot in England.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/KEE071020USA8-EQB.html

Saturday July 11

2:45 p.m.—$150,000 Grade 2 Appalachian Stakes at Keeneland on TVG

Godolphin's Alms, a two-time Grade 3 winner, heads an evenly matched field of six 3-year-old fillies entered for the Appalachian, to be run at a mile on the Keeneland turf course. Trained by two-time Appalachian winner Mike Stidham, Alms has won four of five career starts, including Grade 3 victories in the Matron at Belmont and the Jimmy Durante at Del Mar. Fifth as the favorite in the Tepin Stakes at Churchill Downs in her most recent start, Alms will be ridden by Joel Rosario.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/KEE071120USA4-EQB.html

2:55 p.m.—$150,000 Grade 2 Ruffian Stakes at Belmont Park on FS2

Eclipse Award-winner Monomoy Girl will attempt to bolster her bid for another championship season in headlining a five-horse field for the Ruffian Stakes over Belmont Park's main track. Trained by Brad Cox, Monomoy Girl arrives at the event off an allowance victory on May 16 at Churchill Downs contested at the Ruffian distance of a one-turn mile. Her 2 ¾-length score off a nearly 18-month layoff marked the 5-year-old debut for the chestnut daughter of Tapizar, whose previous start was a one-length victory in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Distaff in November 2018 at Churchill Downs.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/BEL071120USA4-EQB.html

3:18 p.m.—$250,000 Grade 1 Madison Stakes at Keeneland on TVG

Grade 1 winners Guarana and Mia Mischief head a field of nine fillies and mares for the Madison that will be run over seven furlongs on the main track. Three Chimneys Farm and Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings Guarana debuted at Keeneland during the 2019 Spring Meet with a 14¾-length victory that was a springboard to Grade 1 victories in the Acorn and Coaching Club of America Oaks. A dominating winner in her 2020 debut last month at Churchill Downs, Guarana is trained by Chad Brown. Stonestreet Stables' Mia Mischief, who broke her maiden in her second start by 16¼ lengths during Keeneland's 2017 Fall Meet, won the Grade 1 Humana Distaff in 2019 at Churchill Downs. A winner of two of three starts in 2020, Mia Mischief is trained by Steve Asmussen.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/KEE071120USA5-EQB.html

3:51 p.m.—$150,000 Grade 2 Shakertown Stakes at Keeneland on TVG

Wesley Ward's Bound for Nowhere, winner of the 2018 Shakertown and runner-up in 2019, headlines an overflow field of 14 in the 24th running of the Grade 2 event. Trained by Ward, Bound for Nowhere was second in the Grade 3 San Simeon at Santa Anita in March in his lone start of 2020. A victory Saturday would put Bound for Nowhere in the same class as Soaring Free (2004, 2005) as the only two-time winners of the Shakertown.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/KEE071120USA6-EQB.html

4:15 p.m.—$125,000 Grade 3 Robert G. Dick Memorial Stakes at Delaware Park on TVG

Morsches Stable Gentle Ruler will be seeking a repeat victory in the Robert G. Dick Memorial at Delaware Park this Saturday. Last year, Gentle Ruler posted 2 ¾-length in the Robert G. Dick Memorial. The Kentucky-bred followed with a fourth in the Grade 3 Waya Stakes at Saratoga on August 4 and completed her season with a half-length score in the $500,000 Ramsey Farm Stakes at Kentucky Downs on September 12 and a 2 ½-length victory in the Grade 3 Dowager Stakes at Keeneland on October 20.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/DEL071120USA7-EQB.html

4:15 p.m.—$175,000 Grade 2 Connaught Cup Stakes at Woodbine on TVG

City Boy, who pulled off a 24-1 upset in last year's Grade 2 Nearctic Stakes, faces seven rivals on the E.P. Taylor Turf Course in Saturday's Connaught Cup Stakes. Trained by 2020 Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee Mike Keogh, the six-year-old gelding brings a record of 3-6-2 from 17 starts into the seven-furlong Connaught Cup. A son of City Zip, City Boy debuted on April 21, 2017, finishing second in a five-furlong main track race at Woodbine.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/WO071120CAN7-EQB.html

4:24 p.m.—$400,000 Grade 1 Ashland Stakes at Keeneland on TVG

Grade 2 stakes winners Bonny South, Tonalist's Shape and Venetian Harbor headline the 1 1/16-miles Ashland Stakes, which offers 170 points on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks on a 100-40-20-10 scale to the first four finishers. Juddmonte Farms' Bonny South, winner of the Fair Grounds Oaks on March 21, has been working consistently at Keeneland since late April. Trained by Brad Cox, who won the 2018 Central Bank Ashland with champion Monomoy Girl, Bonny South is second on the Kentucky Oaks leaderboard with 100 points.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/KEE071120USA7-EQB.html

4:45 p.m.—$400,000 Grade 2 Delaware Handicap at Delaware Park on TVG

Peter M. Brant's Dunbar Road tops the 83rd renewal of the Delaware Handicap, which has attracted a field of eight and will be contested at 1 1/8-miles for the first time. In her only outing this year, Dunbar Road posted a 1 ¾-length victory in the $100,000 Shawnee Stakes at Churchill Downs on May 23. Last year, the 4-year-old trained by Chad Brown won the Grade 2 Mother Goose at Belmont Park and the Grade 1 Alabama at Saratoga before running third in the Grade 1 Spinster at Keeneland. The daughter of Quality Road closed her 2019 campaign by finishing fifth in the Breeders' Cup Distaff.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/DEL071120USA8-EQB.html

4:57 p.m.—$350,000 Grade 1 Jenny Wiley Stakes at Keeneland on TVG

E Five Racing Thoroughbreds' Rushing Fall will chase history Saturday when she headlines a field of eight in the Jenny Wiley going 1 1/16 miles on the turf. Trained by three-time race winner Chad Brown, Rushing Fall will be trying to join Intercontinental (GB) (2004-2005) as the only repeat winner of the race. With a victory Saturday, Rushing Fall would join Lady Eli and Beholder as the only horses since 1976 to win Grade 1 races at ages 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/KEE071120USA8-EQB.html

5:30 p.m.—$600,000 Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland on TVG

Peter Callahan's Swiss Skydiver will try to put herself on the Kentucky Derby trail Saturday when she takes on males in a field of 13 horses entered for the 96th running of the Blue Grass Stakes for 3-year-olds going 1 1/8 miles. Swiss Skydiver will be seeking her initial Kentucky Derby points in her first test against males. Winner of the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks, Grade 3 Fantasy and Grade 2 Santa Anita Oaks in her past three starts, Swiss Skydiver will get a 5-pound weight allowance Saturday and carry 118 pounds in the Blue Grass. No filly has won the Blue Grass and only one filly has run in the race since it debuted at Keeneland during the track's inaugural Spring Meet in April 1937.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/KEE071120USA9-EQB.html

Sunday July 12

4:24 p.m.—$100,000 Grade 3 Transylvania Stakes at Keeneland on TVG

Three Diamonds Farm's Field Pass will face 10 foes as he goes for his fourth stakes victory of 2020 in the 32nd running of the Transylvania Stakes for 3-year-olds going 1 1/16 miles on the turf. Fourth in last fall's Grade 3 Bourbon Stakes in his lone Keeneland start, Field Pass has posted stakes victories on the grass this year in the Dania Beach and Gulfstream and last month in the Audubon at Churchill Downs. Field Pass also won the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks on Turfway Park's all-weather surface in March.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/KEE071220USA7-EQB.html

5:30 p.m.—$175,000 Grade 2 Elkhorn Stakes at Keeneland on NBCSN

Michael Hui's six-time graded stakes winner Zulu Alpha will shoot for his third victory of 2020 when he headlines a field of 13 grass marathoners in the Elkhorn, contested over 1½ miles over the Keeneland turf course. Winner of the 2018 Grade 3 Sycamore and third as the favorite in the 2019 Dixiana Elkhorn, Zulu Alpha started his 2020 campaign with a victory in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational and followed that with a triumph in the Grade 2 Mac Diarmida. In his most recent start, Zulu Alpha was second in the Grade 2 Pan American going 1½ miles.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/KEE071220USA9-EQB.html

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The Next Generation with Paige Gilster

The TDN has partnered with Amplify Horse Racing to present “The Next Generation,” an ongoing video series featuring young people who were not born into the Thoroughbred business, but are now excelling within the industry.

Paige Gilster was long on hands-on horse experience but short on connections when she graduated from Iowa State University and moved to Lexington. Since then, she’s developed her skills as a horsewoman and in just a short time, has become the assistant farm manager at Timber Town Stables, where she looks over an elite group of broodmares that include dual Eclipse champions Songbird and Havre de Grace.

While still in college, Paige wrote up a business plan on how she would manage her own broodmare and presented the idea to her father. Together, the duo found Southern Classic (Southern Image) at a rescue facility in North Dakota, and purchased the mare for $500.

In 2016, Paige bred her new broodmare to Dialed In. The result was a colt with a bad eye, who she named Finnick the Fierce. The chestnut the Fierce broke his maiden on debut as a juvenile last June and later placed second in the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. behind Silver Prospector (Declaration of War).

This year, he ran third in the GI Arkansas Derby and now looks to gain more points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby this weekend in the GII Blue Grass S. at Keeneland.

KR: How did you get involved in the Thoroughbred industry?

PG: I went to college at Iowa State University, and in their equine program, we would bring about seven or eight Thoroughbred mares to Kentucky to breed, then bring them back and foal them out. We were very involved in the reproductive parts of the year, and I realized that I really loved working with horses every day and the Thoroughbred industry in general. The first time I came down to Kentucky is when I decided I was moving to Lexington as soon as I graduated and I was just going to make it work and try it all.

KR: What was it that drew you to horse racing?

PG: I fell in love with the reproduction and breeding. There isn’t a horse industry quite like this Thoroughbred racing industry we’re in, as they look so closely into the diverse bloodlines and the physical that ties directly to racetrack performance. There’s a lot of equine sports, but in my opinion, racing is the only one that is solely judged on the best horse of the day. It’s the horse that shows up that day in that race, and that’s what I love about it–it’s all about the horse.

KR: What was it like being a total newcomer in the business?

PG: You get a lot of, “Are you sure you want to do this?” or “Well, can you though? You’re not from around here and you really have no experience.” I just felt like I was a little more discredited when I came here because they didn’t know me, they didn’t know my family or the exact environment where I had gotten my horse experience. It was a lot of disproving the doubters and having to prove myself over and over again.

KR: What is your favorite part about the industry?

PG: I think my favorite part is the bloodlines and seeing the foalings after a year of waiting. Trying to match the matings and then hoping they get pregnant and have a healthy pregnancy, and then finally seeing a beautiful foal come out. Then when the mating is successful and if they win, that’s the greatest achievement of all for me.

KR: If you could change one thing about our industry, what would it be?

PG: One thing I would change is what the industry demands from each person. This a seven day a week, 24-hour job, and it’s very demanding on any individual that decides to pursue it. A work-life, personal-life balance is difficult. It’s great for me. I love what I do and I’ve accepted it, but it’s kind of tough for my family to understand why I’m not coming home to see them once a month. I think that deters a lot of newcomers. It’s asking a lot for young people to come into this industry and say, “Okay, devote your entire life to this,” when it’s not an easy ladder to climb as an outsider.

KR: Who is your all-time favorite horse?

PG: This is the easiest question in the book–Finnick the Fierce (Dialed In). He is the second horse I’ve ever bred when my dad and I got into the business with our broodmare, Southern Classic (Southern Image). He was her second foal, and he came out with one eye. I was able to sell him privately to Dr. Arnaldo Monge and Rey Hernandez. He has defied all expectations and made a lot of personal dreams come true to be on the Derby trail, even in this weird year. It’s just been fantastic and it’s hard to put into words how exciting it is. So, he’s easily my all-time favorite horse for crossing off a lot of personal checks.

KR: Tell us more about Finnick the Fierce’s story.

PG: Luckily, I was a senior in college in Lexington on a class trip when Southern Classic foaled. I was on the other side of town so I missed it, but I called my professor the next morning and said “I’m going to need a couple hours.” So, I was able to go out and see him. That was in April, and then I graduated in May and moved to Lexington to be a part of the KEMI program. As much as I could, I was with him every weekend handling him, because my goal for him was to go the sales and help with some college debt, and his sire, Dialed In, was on fire that year. I worked with him at least once a week.

I didn’t want someone naming him “One-Eyed Wonder” or something like that. I didn’t want that to be a limitation. I said, “We’ve got to name him something fierce.” And that’s where his name came from. It’s been fun to watch him grow and develop, and I’m very blessed that Dr. Monge and his connections have allowed me to stay involved with him. Dr. Monge is my mare’s vet, so it’s been great. They’re like family to me.

KR: What are your long-term career goals?

PG: My career path is kind of a question mark. I want to try it all. I love what I’m doing right now and I love being at Timber Town. Maybe I could eventually manage the farm, or have my own farm at some point. But I kind of take it month by month, and as long as I feel fulfilled and happy where I’m at, then I’m pretty happy for the future.

All of the bloodstock agents that I have met have been incredible. It’s a lot of time and reading pedigrees and learning. So eventually I may like to try that, whether that means working for an agent someday or if I try my hand at it myself at some point. But for now, I am really enjoying managing here and being Wayne’s [Sweezey] assistant has been awesome. There’s so much to learn every day. As long as I can keep learning, who knows where it can take me?

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Rushie’s ‘Natural Speed’ Will Play To His Advantage In Blue Grass

Jim and Donna Daniell's Rushie, third behind Honor A. P. in the June 6 Runhappy Santa Anita Derby (G1) in his most recent start, drew post 10 in the 13-horse field for Saturday's $600,000 Toyota Blue Grass (G2) at Keeneland.

“I'm fine with the draw,” trainer Michael McCarthy said Wednesday afternoon from his base at Del Mar. “He's very tactical. He's got plenty of natural ability and natural speed. I would imagine he'd probably be laying somewhere in that first group of horses going into the first turn.”

Rushie will be ridden by Javier Castellano, who won the 2019 Toyota Blue Grass aboard Vekoma.

McCarthy has had only two starters at Keeneland, and Rushie will become his first runner in the Toyota Blue Grass. The colt is a member of the first crop of Liam's Map, who won the 2015 Las Vegas Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) at Keeneland. Liam's Map is the sire of another Toyota Blue Grass hopeful, Basin.

Rushie is out of the Colonel John mare Conquest Angel, whose half-sister Peace and War won Keeneland's Darley Alcibiades (G1) in 2014. His family also includes last year's Darley Alcibiades winner, champion British Idiom.

Rushie is not nominated to the Triple Crown, but his performance in the Toyota Blue Grass might change that status.

“We're going to let him earn his way to the first Saturday in September – that sounds strange to say that,” McCarthy said about the rescheduled Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1). “If he were to run well, it's something that the Daniells and myself would go ahead and think about. There are plenty of races out there later in the summer and in the fall all over the country that will be worth taking a look at, so let's see what happens.

“If he jumps up and runs well, I guess we have to think about something like that. It's a good problem to have.”

McCarthy has entered Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Madaket Stables' Speech in both Friday's $100,000 Beaumont (G3) Presented by Keeneland Select and Saturday's $400,000 Central Bank Ashland (G1). In her last race, Speech was second to Swiss Skydiver in the Santa Anita Oaks (G2). Swiss Skydiver will face Rushie in the Toyota Blue Grass.

“I like the idea of the Beaumont, the one turn on the Beard Course,” he said referring to the stakes' distance of 7 furlongs, 184 feet. “Just thought it would be a good idea for insurance to go ahead and enter in the Ashland just in case something crazy happened over the next 48 hours.”

So he's leaning toward the Beaumont for Speech?

“Ah …… Not sure yet.”

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