spring meet | Horse Racing Free Tips

Keeneland Spring Meet Tickets On Sale Feb. 20

Tickets for Keeneland's 16-day Spring Meet, which runs April 5-26, go on sale Feb. 20. Headlined by the 100th running of the GI Toyota Blue Grass S., the meet will award more than $8.1m in purse money over 19 stakes races. Tickets can be purchased in advance here and fans are also welcome to tailgate on The Hill without a ticket or reservation. Keeneland will so also host fans for Kentucky Derby Day with general admission and Equestrian Room dining tickets available along with upgraded tailgate packages.

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KY Derby Week, Spring Meet Tickets Go On Sale Feb. 1

Tickets for the 150th GI Kentucky Derby and GI Kentucky Oaks, along with the entire Spring meet at Churchill Downs, are available as of 12 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 1. The meet, which runs April 27 to June 30, features events such as Opening Night, Dawn at the Downs Dining, 502's Day, Champions Day, Thurby and Taste of Derby. The Spring meet will also see the debut of the new paddock redesign project. Tickets for all events, including Derby weekend, are available to purchase here.

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Keeneland Workers Prep For Opening Weekend Stakes

Several runners being pointed to opening weekend stakes turned in works Sunday morning over the fast main track.

Dixiana Farms' homebred Hayes Strike (Connect) along with Mendelssohns March (Mendelssohn), owned by Harold Lerner, Nehoc Stables, AWC Stables and Team Stallion Racing Stable, tuned up for expected starts in Saturday's GI Toyota Blue Grass S. by working 5 furlongs in 1:00.60 in company together.

Hayes Strike comes into the 1 1/8-mile Blue Grass off a victory in the Private Terms S. at Laurel March 18.

“I don't run many horses in Maryland,” trainer Kenny McPeek said of Hayes Strike. “His race at Turfway (in the Leonatus Stakes on Jan. 21 in which he finished ninth) … nothing went right. He didn't ship well, and he didn't handle the synthetic surface at all. I just needed to get him back on the dirt and get him back to winning.”

Mendelssohns March has two wins in two starts with victories on the turf at Fair Grounds and on a sloppy dirt track at Oaklawn Park.

McPeek is the most recent of six trainers to have swept the GI Central Bank Ashland and Toyota Blue Grass in the same year. McPeek, who first accomplished the double in 2002 with Take Charge Lady and Harlan's Holiday, is expected to send out Magdalena Racing, Colette Marie Vanmatre and James Ball's Defining Purpose (Cross Traffic) in the Ashland. Defining Purpose worked 5 furlongs in 1:00.20.

Half-mile workers included Mr. and Mrs. Tsunebumi Yoshihara's Yuugiri (Shackleford) who went in :48.80 in preparation for the GI Madison S. for trainer Rodolphe Brisset; Tom Durant's Run Classic (Runhappy) who worked a half in :47.80 for the GIII Commonwealth S. for trainer Bret Calhoun; and Michael J. Ryan's Be Your Best (Ire) (Muhaarar {GB}) in :49.80 for the GII Appalachian S. for trainer Horacio De Paz.

Also working Sunday morning was West Coast Stables' Pride of the Nile (Pioneerof the Nile), currently 28th on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks with 17 points, who drilled 6 furlongs in 1:16 on the main track under Ferrin Peterson for trainer Doug O'Neill in preparation for Friday's GI Central Bank Ashland S. Pride of the Nile shipped to Keeneland the middle of last month after a troubled trip in the GIII Santa Ysabel at Santa Anita March 5.

“I was glad to get her,” said Stephanie Murray, who oversees the O'Neill string at Keeneland. “Today was her third work here. The first time, she worked on the (all-weather) training track because of the rain.”

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Churchill Downs To Offer Record 50 Stakes Worth $20.525 Million During Spring Meet

Led by the $3 million GI Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve Sat. May 6, a record 50 stakes races that total $20.525 million will be staged at Churchill Downs Racetrack during the 44-day Spring Meet which spans April 29-July 3.

The lineup features 28 stakes races that received significant boosts–including the GI Stephen Foster which is now worth $1 million–and one new event, the $175,000 Chorleywood Overnight S.

Derby Week kicks off the Spring Meet with 22 stakes that total a record $13.125 million over the six-day stretch that culminates with the highlight of the annual racing calendar–the 149th running of the GI Kentucky Derby. Nine of the 14 races on Kentucky Derby day are stakes that total $7.65 million. In addition to the Derby, the first Saturday in May will showcase the $1 million GI Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic; $750,000 GI Churchill Downs presented by Ford; $750,000 GI Derby City Distaff presented by Kendall-Jackson Winery; $500,000 GII Longines Churchill Distaff Turf Mile; $500,000 GII Pat Day Mile; $500,000 GII American Turf; $500,000 GII Twin Spires Turf Sprint; and $175,000 Knicks Go Overnight S.

One day earlier, Churchill Downs will host the $1.25 million GI Longines Kentucky Oaks. The seven stakes that day total $4.2 million: the Oaks; $750,000 GI La Troienne; $600,000 GII Alysheba presented by Sentient Jet; $500,000 GII Eight Belles; $500,000 GII Edgewood presented by Forcht Bank; $300,000 GIII Modesty; and $300,000 Unbridled Sidney S. presented by Sysco.

Stephen Foster Preview Day is Saturday, June 3 with six stakes that total $1.35 million: the $225,000 GIII Blame; $225,000 GIII Shawnee; $225,000 GIII Arlington; $225,000 GIII Regret; $225,000 Aristides S.; and $225,000 Audubon S.

The $1 million Stephen Foster, which has been elevated to Grade I status, is the centerpiece of closing weekend. The race anchors a six-race stakes card that totals $2.475 million on Saturday, July 1, and includes the $400,000 GII Fleur de Lis; $400,000 GII Wise Dan; $225,000 American Derby; $225,000 Tepin S.; and $225,000 Kelly's Landing S.

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