FallStars weekend | Horse Racing Free Tips

The stakes schedule for the Keeneland Fall Meeting was released Wednesday, featuring 22 events worth a record $9.05 million in prize money.

The richest event is the $1-million GI Coolmore Turf Mile, while the purse for the GI Darley Alcibiades S. has been increased by $100,000 to $600,000. The Franklin S., raised to Grade II status for this running, will receive a $50,000 boost to $350,000. Of the 22 added-money events, 12 are slated for the turf and 10 on the dirt, with six programs offering multiple stakes. The Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund is contributing $1.3 million to Fall Meet stakes purses, pending approval from the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.

“The strength of the Fall Meet stakes schedule reflects our focus on providing the highest-quality racing for our horsemen and fans,” Keeneland Vice President of Racing Gatewood Bell said. “With these additional increases, all Grade I stakes are now worth a minimum of $600,000; all Grade II stakes are $350,000; Grade III races are $300,000; and listed stakes are $250,000. We believe these purse levels will attract the best in the sport and make for an exciting fall season of racing.”

The traditional kick-off to the Fall Meet is 'FallStars Weekend' Oct. 6-8, with eight 'Win and You're In' qualifiers for various Breeders' Cup divisions. The opening day Alcibiades is complemented by the GII Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix S. and the GII Jessamine S., sponsored for the first time by the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, taking place Nov. 7. The Saturday, Oct. 7 card features the Coolmore Turf Mile, the GI Breeders' Futurity–in its 10th year of sponsorship by Claiborne Farm–and the GII Thoroughbred Club of America S. as Breeders' Cup qualifiers, while the GI First Lady S. and GII Woodford S. are also set for day two of the meet. All three races on the Sunday program offer Breeders' Cup berths: the GI Juddmonte Spinster S., the GII Castle & Key Bourbon S. and the Listed Indian Summer S.

The 40th running of the GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Oct. 14 anchors the second week of racing and will bring together some of the world's top 3-year-old turf fillies over nine furlongs on turf in the race first contested in 1984 to commemorate the Queen's visit to Keeneland and Lexington. The GIII Sycamore S. and Franklin are set for Oct. 13 and Oct. 15, respectively.

The GII Lexus Raven Run S. and GIII Rood & Riddle Dowager S. feature the weekend of Oct. 21 and 22, while the GIII Valley View S., the GIII Hagyard Fayette S. and GIII Bryan Station S. are slated closing weekend Oct. 27 and 28.

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The 2021 Fall Meet at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky, closed Oct. 30, with record all-sources wagering of better than $181 million over the course of 17 days of live racing at the historic facility.

When the dust had settled Saturday afternoon, all-sources wagering (not including whole-card simulcasting at Keeneland) totaled $181,009,626, obliterating the previous record of $164,680,229 established during this year's Spring Meet and the previous Fall Meet record of $160,207,916 set in 2019. This year's all-sources wagering numbers represented a 22% increase over last fall's $148,229,708. Keeneland offered a beefed-up stakes schedule worth $6 million across 22 black-type races.

On Saturday, Oct. 9, the second of the three programs that comprise 'FallStars' weekend, Keeneland established a new Fall record for single-day all-source wagering of $20,926,640, surpassing the prior record of $18,392,756 set in 2019. A new benchmark was also set for Pick 5 Wagering, as a sequence consisting of only stakes races attracted $1,255,080 in wagers, besting the previous record last fall by about 50%.

Keeneland also instituted for the first time an 'All-Turf' Pick 3 wager, that offered a low 15% takeout. The wager handled an average of $112,233 per day, with an average payout of over $1,300 for the base $3 wager.

“We are so appreciative of the tremendous support from our fans, our horsemen, the Central Kentucky community, our horseplayers and our corporate partners,” Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin said. “Welcoming fans back to Keeneland this fall, along with the return of our special events and tailgating on The Hill, felt like a breath of fresh air after the restrictions of the past year and a half. It was a terrific way to mark our 85th year of racing and to celebrate the important role Keeneland plays in our community and the horse industry.”

On the racing side, Keeneland hosted 10 races in the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series, offering the winners of those races fees-paid berths into a variety of Breeders' Cup races. A dozen of the aforementioned 22 stakes events were held on the grass. Keeneland added a pair of juvenile sprint stakes–the Myrtlewood and the Bowman Mill S.–at the back end of the meet and revived the Perryville S. and Bryan Station S. for 3-year-olds.

Tyler Gaffalione ran away with the jockeys' title, booting home no fewer than 29 winners, while Brad Cox won the final race of the meet with new 'TDN Rising Star' Famed (Uncle Mo) to clinch a second consecutive fall title. Godolphin and Calumet Farm finished in a tie for leading owner with four wins. Sheikh Mohammed's operation, along with prominent owner/breeder G. Watts Humphrey, Jr. were each recipients of a prestigious Keeneland Tray, emblematic of having won their eighth graded stakes at Keeneland.

Keeneland hosted their annual 'Make a Wish' day, a charitable undertaking that was the brainchild of the late John Greely IV, on Oct. 14, benefiting 10 children; College Scholarship Day Oct. 15; and Heroes Day, presented by Rubicon, Oct. 24, further demonstrating the Keeneland Association's commitment to philanthropic efforts in the broader community.

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