Opening Day: Fire At Will, My Girl Red Headline Friday Stakes At Keeneland

Three Diamonds Farm's Fire At Will, winner of last fall's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) here at Keeneland, will face five rivals in Friday's 33rd running of the $150,000 Kentucky Utilities Transylvania (G3) for 3-year-olds going 1 1/16 miles on the turf.

The Transylvania will go as the ninth race with a 5:30 p.m. post time.

Trained by Mike Maker, who saddled Field Pass to a victory in the 2020 Transylvania, Fire At Will returns to the turf after finishing eighth in the Fountain of Youth (G2) on dirt in his most recent start. Tyler Gaffalione has the mount and will break from post position four.

Top threats to Fire At Will could come from Bantry Farms' Barrister Tom, winner of the More Than Ready Juvenile at Kentucky Downs last fall, and Stuart Janney III's Scarlett Sky, runner-up in the Palm Beach (L) at Gulfstream Park in his most recent start.

Trained by Michael Ewing, Barrister Tom will be making his 2021 debut and break from post five under Drayden Van Dyke.

Joel Rosario has the mount on Scarlett Sky and will break from post one for trainer Shug McGaughey, who won the 2011 Transylvania with Air Support.

The field for the Transylvania, with riders and weights from the inside, is: Scarlett Sky (Rosario, 118 pounds), Palazzi (Chris Landeros, 120), Breadman (Luis Saez, 118), Fire At Will (Gaffalione, 123), Barrister Tom (Van Dyke, 120) and Earls Rock (IRE) (Florent Geroux, 120).

Erich Brehm's My Girl Red, stylish winner of last summer's Sorrento (G2) at Del Mar, headlines a field of seven 3-year-old fillies entered Monday for Friday's 36th running of the $150,000 Beaumont (G3) Presented by Keeneland Select.

Run over the Beard Course of 7 furlongs, 184 feet, the Beaumont offers 17 points toward the $1.25 million Kentucky Oaks (G1) on a 10-4-2-1 scale to the first- through fourth-place finishers.

The Beaumont will go as the afternoon's eighth race with a 4:57 p.m. post time. First post time for Friday's 10-race program that opens the 15-day Spring Meet is 1:05.

Trained by Keith Desormeaux, My Girl Red will be making her 2021 debut on Friday. James Graham will be aboard for the first time and break from post one.

Two fillies coming out of Florida may provide challenges to My Girl Red.

West Point Thoroughbreds, John Ballantyne, William Freeman and Michael Valdes' Lady Traveler finished second in the Forward Gal (G3) at Gulfstream in her most recent start on dirt. Trained by Dale Romans, Lady Traveler will break from post five under Corey Lanerie.

G. Watts Humphrey Jr.'s Farsighted, winner of the Any Limit at Gulfstream in her most recent start, returns to Keeneland where she broke her maiden last fall before running second in the Songbird on the Breeders' Cup's Future Stars Friday undercard. Julien Leparoux has the mount and will break from post three.

The field for the Beaumont, with riders and weights from the rail out, is: My Girl Red (Graham, 120 pounds), Slumber Party (Joel Rosario, 118), Farsighted (Julien Leparoux, 118), Amalfi Princess (Tyler Gaffalione, 118), Lady Traveler (Lanerie, 118), Cilla (Colby Hernandez, 118) and Twenty Carat (Luis Saez, 118).

Lindy Farms and Ice Wine Stable's Fauci, never worse than second in four career starts, will begin his 2021 campaign Friday when he headlines a field of 10 3-year-olds entered Monday for the second running of the $100,000 Palisades Turf Sprint going 5½ furlongs on the grass.

The Palisades Turf Sprint will go as the seventh race Friday afternoon with a 4:24 p.m. post time.

Trained by Wesley Ward, Fauci ran second to stablemates Golden Pal in the Skidmore at Saratoga and Outadore in the Juvenile Turf Sprint at Kentucky Downs to close his 2020 campaign.

Tyler Gaffalione has the mount on Fauci and will break from post position eight.

Returning to Keeneland, where he won the Indian Summer (L) Presented by Keeneland Select last October, is Kristin Boice and Marylou Holden's Bodenheimer.

Trained by Valorie Lund, Bodenheimer closed 2020 with an eighth-place finish behind Golden Pal in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G2) here. Brian Hernandez Jr. will be back aboard and break from post two.

The field for the Palisades Turf Sprint, with riders and weights from the inside, is: Lookin for Loki (Mitchell Murrill, 118 pounds), Bodenheimer (Hernandez, 120), Chasing Artie (Joel Rosario, 118), Blameworthy (Florent Geroux, 118), Smokin' Jay (Luis Saez, 118), Rustler (Corey Lanerie, 118), Unitedandresolute (James Graham, 118), Fauci (Gaffalione, 118), Lock Up (Drayden Van Dyke, 118) and J C's Champ (Emmanuel Esquivel, 118).

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Breeders’ Cup Buzz Presented By Del Mar Ship & Win: Remembering The 2015 Cup

This year's Breeders' Cup not only marks a return to Keeneland Race Course, it also means it's been five years since the event was last held at the Lexington, Ky., track, producing what was one of the most memorable editions in its history.

In the Breeders' Cup Buzz, we're asking some notable Thoroughbred industry names about their experiences with the event and a few hypothetical questions tied to the races.

This week, we asked participants in the upcoming Breeders' Cup to look back at the last time the card was held at Keeneland and recall what memories have stuck with them in the time between.

To view previous editions of the Breeders' Cup Buzz, click here.

Valorie Lund – Trainer

“American Pharoah winning the Classic was awesome. He was doing something that will probably never done again in many years, if ever.”

 

 

 

Aron Wellman – Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners

“Selfishly, we had a runner that year in the Distaff, Curalina. She put up a really game effort to be third behind Stopchargingmaria and Stellar Wind. That was my most vivid memory.”

 

 

 

Harlan Malter – Ironhorse Racing Stable

“I had 2 1/2 to get from Lexington, Ky., to Shelbyville, Ind., to make it from the end of American Pharoah's Classic win to Bucchero's first stakes win as a 3-year-old in the To Much Coffee at Indiana Grand. I'm a big planner, and I was sitting next to my partner saying, 'I don't think we can wait until American Pharoah crosses the finish line.' We had to make a beeline to the car because other people would be trying to leave. I had so much excitement for American Pharoah's race, and I thank him for winning it so convincingly, because we legitimately headed into the tunnel when he passed us, and we were able to get to the car. We arrived in Shelbyville as Bucchero was walking into the paddock. It was the first stakes win for Ironhorse.”

Carlos Martin – Trainer

“American Pharoah putting on a show in the final race of his career, and destroying the field. He was just a magical horse. I was a big fan of his, and to watch him go out to Keeneland and dominate the way he did, and the reception he got, it was just a special, special day.”

 

Jerry Crawford – Donegal Racing

“Donegal Racing had over 125 people at the races that day, and I think that was my biggest memory. It was the year Keen Ice won the Travers, beating American Pharoah, and we, of course, were hoping that he'd repeat that feat in the Classic. That wasn't meant to be, but it was still a very exciting summer and fall of racing.”

 

 

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Breeders’ Cup Partners With Guardian Security To Enhance Equine Safety

The Breeders' Cup, one of Thoroughbred racing's most prestigious international events, today announces a new partnership with Guardian Security, Kentucky's premier security company dedicated to providing around-the-clock security services, to enhance equine safety and security measures for the 2020 Breeders' Cup World Championships. The new agreement reaffirms Breeders' Cup's ongoing commitment to ensuring the highest level of equine safety and integrity standards.

Under the new partnership, Guardian Security will provide 24-hour equine surveillance in the days leading up to, during and following the upcoming World Championships, set to be held at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky. on Nov. 6-7. During this time, over 100 dedicated security officers will be deployed to support the Breeders' Cup Equine Security Team with daily operations by monitoring the activity in the barns, keeping daily logbooks of who enters a stall and bolstering overall stable and racetrack security, to ensure the enforcement of the most comprehensive and exceptional safety and integrity protocols onsite. The combined expertise of the investigative professionals that comprise Breeders' Cup Equine Security Team, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission Investigator team and Guardian Security will provide a safe and level playing field for all participants.

“Protecting the welfare of our horses has always been an utmost priority,” said Dora Delgado, Breeders' Cup Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Officer. “We firmly believe in the continued enhancement and enforcement of the security standards in Thoroughbred racing, and we hope to set the new benchmark in equine care through our partnership with Guardian Security.”

“Our goal at Guardian Security is simple – to provide world-class safety and security measures that guarantee the most seamless and high-quality horse racing experiences,” said Jeff Blanton, Chief Operating Officer of Guardian Security. “Breeders' Cup has long been known for its exemplary equine welfare protocols, and we're honored to be working with them to build upon this strong foundation and create the safest and fairest World Championships yet.”

The partnership follows a series of recent efforts to bolster equine safety standards for Breeders' Cup races and events. In March 2020, the Breeders' Cup Board committed to adopting new rules aimed at establishing higher safety and veterinarian evaluation protocols during horse races, as well as continuing to follow globally established practices such as pre-and-post-race testing, comprehensive prohibitions on anabolic steroids and other controlled substances, frequent veterinarian exams and race surface testing. Breeders' Cup is also a founding member of the Thoroughbred Safety Coalition, an organization that aims to maintain the safety of both equine and human athletes, and augment existing protections through unified industry efforts to develop new reforms.

For more information on Breeders' Cup's equine welfare and safety standards, please visit BreedersCup.com/safety. To learn more about the 2020 Breeders' Cup World Championships, please visit BreedersCup.com/2020.

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