Keeneland | Horse Racing Free Tips

Frosted Filly Comes Out Flying to Kick off Keeneland Meet

1st-Keeneland, $56,787, Msw, 4-2, 2yo, f, 4 1/2f, :52.15, ft, 3 1/2 lengths.
BOHEMIAN FROST (f, 2, Frosted–Toast of Mayfair, by Speightstown) blasted out of the gate and never looked back to become the first winner at Keeneland's spring meet Friday afternoon. Having prepped for this with a :46 2/5 bullet from the gate here Mar. 21, the grey was pounded down to 9-5 into the face of a 4-5 Wesley Ward shot and soon proved why. With Ward's runner Dream Fly (American Pharoah) missing the break from the rail, Bohemian Frost was almost instantly clear and the grey buzzed along from there en route to a 3 1/2-length victory. Just Fly rallied for second. The winner's dam, who is a daughter of GISW juvenile Appealing Zophie (Successful Appeal), was a five-length debut winner at two herself. Toast of Mayfair, who sold for $325,000 at KEENOV '18 while carrying Bohemian Frost, is also a half to GI Belmont S. winner Tapwrit (Tapit), MGSW Ride a Comet (Candy Ride {Arg}) and Inject (Frosted), a sharp Ellis debutante last summer who garnered 'TDN Rising Star' honors. Toast of Mayfair has a yearling filly by Candy Ride (Arg) and most recently visited West Coast. Trainer John Innis was able to build his arsenal of 2021 juveniles after selling County Final (Oxbow) for a sale-topping $475,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton July sale. The $9,500 KEESEP bargain buy took his turf sprint debut at Churchill last June before finishing second in the GIII Bashford Manor S. West Point Thoroughbreds and partners bought him at Fasig and turned him over to Steve Asmussen linebefore a victory in Monmouth's Tyro S. Sales history: $42,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $36,000. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.
O-47 Roses, LLC, Sean Speck & John Ennis; B-Woodford Thoroughbreds, LLC (KY); T-John Ennis.

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Blue Grass Contender Hidden Stash ‘Looking More And More Like A Diamond’

Under operation for less than three years, BBN Racing is proud of its accomplishments with such runners as Grade 1 winner Concrete Rose, raced in partnership with Ashbrook Farm, and Grade 2-placed Hidden Stash. Concrete Rose sold for $1.95 million to top Keeneland's 2020 November Breeding Stock Sale, and Hidden Stash, purchased at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, is to make his next start here in Saturday's $800,000 Toyota Blue Grass (G2).

“It's incredibly exciting for us to be running in the Blue Grass,” said Braxton Lynch, a Founding Partner of BBN Racing with Brian Klatsky and Brendan O'Brien. “As a syndicate manager, I can't promise winners or earnings, but what we did promise was enormous amounts of fun and great communication. I feel like we have delivered on that thus far with Concrete Rose and Hidden Stash and if the wins and earnings follow, that will be icing on the cake.”

In Kentucky, “BBN” means only one thing: the University of Kentucky fandom. The enthusiastic group inspired the racing operation's name.

“BBN Racing does stand for Big Blue Nation, not because all the partners are from Kentucky – most of the partners are huge sports fans,” Lynch said. “Big Blue Nation is known for its enthusiasm and passion and that's what we wanted to capture with BBN Racing. It's made up of friends and family who watched horse racing from the sidelines and has given them a chance to participate, while spreading the (investment) risk. Several of the partners will be at Keeneland on Saturday.”

Hidden Stash, a colt by Constitution bred in Kentucky by Rhineshire Farm, comes from the family of Grade 1 winner and sire Sky Mesa and Grade 1 winner Maxfield. Vinery Sales, agent for Rhineshire Farm, consigned him to the September Sale, where he sold to BBN for $50,000.

“He was quite immature at the time,” Lynch said, “and I remember thinking that we might have just found a diamond in the rough. Either that or just a piece of coal. Luckily, he's looking more and more like a diamond.”

Trained by Vicki Oliver, Hidden Stash received his early training at Keeneland. He scored his first career victory here during the 2020 Fall Meet and next won an allowance race at Churchill Downs. Hidden Stash was third in the Sam F. Davis (G3) and second in the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby (G2) in his first two starts at 3.

In the Toyota Blue Grass, Hidden Stash drew post 1 and will be ridden by Rafael Bejarano.

“This horse is tactical and can adapt to whatever options are thrown at him,” Lynch said. “He's a horse that has improved with every race. We've been itching to stretch him out, and I think he's slowly maturing into the kind of horse we hoped he would be. He tries hard every time, and that's all you can ask these athletes to do.”

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Every Race, Every Day: TVG Featuring Live Coverage From Keeneland

TVG, America's horse racing network, will be broadcasting every race, every day with expanded coverage of Keeneland's Spring Meet which begins on Friday, April 2, and runs through Friday, April 23. Opening weekend will feature the Eclipse Award champion and TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) winner Essential Quality as he puts his four-race undefeated streak on the line in the $800,000 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G2).

Todd Schrupp, Joaquin Jaime, Caleb Keller, Caton Bredar, Gabby Gaudet and Scott Hazelton will be broadcasting live from Keeneland with exclusive interviews, expert analysis and insights throughout opening weekend. Friday's ten-race card will feature a pair of graded stakes races – the $150,000 Beaumont Stakes (G3) and the Transylvania Stakes (G3). The Keeneland Spring meet will feature fifteen graded stakes races.

On Saturday, there will be Kentucky Derby points on the line in the $800,000 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G2) which offers 100-40-20-10 qualifying points to the top four finishers. Essential Quality, trained by Brad Cox and ridden by recent Dubai World Cup (G1) winning jockey Luis Saez, will face a field of eight rivals including Highly Motivated, a stakes winner trained by Chad Brown.

Saturday at Keeneland will also feature the $500,000 Central Bank Ashland Stakes (G1), a Kentucky Oaks (G1) prep for sophomore fillies. The race will feature the three-year-old debut of Malathaat for trainer Todd Pletcher and Shadwell Stable. The bay daughter of Curlin is out of Grade 1 winning mare Dreaming of Julia and was undefeated from three starts as a juvenile. Joel Rosario will be in the irons.

The Road to the Kentucky Derby (G1) will run through California on Saturday with the $750,000 Runhappy Santa Anita Derby (G1), a top-tier Kentucky Derby (G1) prep race with 100-40-20-10 points up for grabs for the top four finishers. Trainer Bob Baffert will try to add a tenth Santa Anita Derby victory to his resume and will saddle two contenders in the field of ten – graded stakes winner Medina Spirit with John Velazquez aboard and recent maiden winner Defunded with Mike Smith up.

TVG's Mike Joyce, Simon Bray, Christina Blacker and Dave Weaver will be reporting live from Santa Anita with full coverage of the twelve-race card which will feature a total of six stakes races.

TVG will also be broadcasting the eleven-race card from Aqueduct which will feature five graded stakes races including the $750,000 Wood Memorial Stakes (G2), a major prep race on the road to the Kentucky Derby with 100-40-20-10 qualifying points available to the top four finishers. The race has drawn a field of nine including Risk Taking, one of two horses for trainer Chad Brown. The son of Medaglia d'Oro was last seen winning the Withers Stakes (G3) in February and will team up with Irad Ortiz, Jr.

In addition to racing from Keeneland, Santa Anita and Gulfstream Park, TVG will feature racing from Oaklawn Park, Aqueduct and more. Fans can tune in on TVG, TVG2 and the Watch TVG app which is available on Amazon Fire, Roku and connected Apple TV devices.

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NBC Racing, Hockey Analyst Eddie Olczyk Joins Writers’ Room

It's busy season for NBC's Eddie Olczyk. One of the few analysts on national television to dabble in multiple sports, the popular former hockey star is gearing up to broadcast the GI Kentucky Derby as well as the NHL playoffs this spring, and he joined the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland Tuesday afternoon to discuss it all. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Olczyk talked about his handicapping strategies, what horses he's eyeing for the first Saturday in May, his ordeal with colon cancer and much more.

Asked about his racing origins and unique broadcasting perspective, Olczyk said, “Since I was 13 years old here in Chicago at old Arlington Park, for me, it was love at first sight. I think anybody that I either bring to the racetrack or teach them about handicapping or just share stories about horse racing with, once they go [to the track], it seems like they continue to go. So I'd like to think that I've made an impact as far as getting hockey people involved in it. On the other side, I think I've turned a lot of horse racing people into hockey fans. Which both sports, quite frankly, could certainly use. We could use more people, especially young people, getting to know and loving both games. As I love to say, pucks and ponies, there's nothing better. And it's a great time of year with the Triple Crown and the NHL playoffs right around the corner.”

Later, Olczyk opened up about his six-month long chemotherapy battle with stage 3 colon cancer.

“The first thing I thought was, 'How long do I have to live?'” he said about his reaction when he got the diagnosis. “Colon cancer is very treatable if you can get to it early, but I was at stage 3. I was in one of those situations where it could've gone either way. I started my chemo Sept. 11, 2017. It was every two weeks for 48 hours. I was very lucky to have an incredible team of doctors. My wife Diana–we'll be married 33 years come August–was there every step of the way. I never saw her weak, never saw her down, never saw her worried, but I knew that when I wasn't around or she was by herself, she let her guard down. I was scared, and the side effects brought me to my knees. It tested my will to live. When I was ready to quit, she gave me a greater inspirational speech than I'd ever heard in any locker room or other setting in my life. She grabbed me and said, 'Look, you've got to fight. For me, for our kids, and for all the people that love you.' The conversation lasted 30 minutes. I cried for 35 of it. I said, 'OK, I'm just going to grab my hockey helmet and put it back on and I'm going to go day to day.'”

Elsewhere in the show, the writers reacted to the big racing days at Gulfstream and Dubai, including the tragic breakdown of Zenden (Fed Biz) before celebrating the continued overall progress in reducing racing fatalities in the West Point Thoroughbreds news segment. Click here to watch the podcast; click here for the audio-only version.

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