Keeneland is in Lexington, Kentucky and the fabled racecourse is part of the Bluegrass State’s center of horse racing in the US. Thoroughbred horse races at Keeneland are reserved for the Spring Meet in April and the Fall Meet in October.
The Spring Meet at Keeneland in April features 19 graded stakes races (ten on turf and nine on dirt). This 15-day meet highlights a couple of key prep races for the Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Derby. In October at Keeneland, Wednesday is the Wins-day Challenge presented by Malone’s. First place is a $200 Malone’s gift card along with second place ($100 gift card) and third place ($50 gift card) prizes.
Keeneland Race Course Opening Day and Open Weekend in the spring and fall meets are fan- favorites for Kentucky. Horse betting fans can look forward to the Grade 1 stakes races all month long for April and October at Keeneland.
Grade 1 Horse Racing at Keeneland
Spring Meet
Central Bank Ashland Stakes
Toyota Blue Grass Stakes
Madison Stakes
Maker’s Mark Mile
Jenny Wiley Stakes
Fall Meet
Darley Alcibiades Stakes
Coolmore Turf Mile
Clairborne Breeders’ Futurity
First Lady
Juddmonte Spinster Stakes
Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup
The featured Grade 1 stakes races at Keeneland of the Spring Meet are the Central Bank Ashland Stakes and the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes in the beginning of April. The graded Central Bank Ashland Stakes at Keeneland on Friday has a prize purse of $600,000 and the race is open to three-year-old fillies. It covers 1 1/16 miles on turf as part of the Road to the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs.
The Toyota Blue Grass Stakes on Saturday is open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts (and fillies). The prize purse is $1 million and the race is 1 1/8 miles on dirt. The graded Blue Grass Stakes has quality points for entry into the Kentucky Derby as a major prep race.
Grade 1 Races at Churchill Downs
The $600,000 Maker’s Mark Mile is open to thoroughbred horses that are four and older. It is one mile on turf and it takes place in the middle of April. The Maker’s Mark Mile can be combined with the Jenny Wiley Stakes as a pair of Grade 1 turf stakes on Saturday’s race card at Keeneland. The Jenny Wiley Stakes is 1 1/16 miles on turf. The race is open to fillies and mares, age four and older. The prize purse is $500,000.
Turning to the Fall Meet at Keeneland, the Coolmore Turf Mile has a $1 million prize purse for thoroughbred horses three and older. This stakes race is a mile on turf. Part of the early October race card is the Clairborne Breeders’ Futurity. Covering 1 1/16 miles on dirt, the race is open to two-year-old thoroughbreds and it has a prize purse of $600,000. Keeneland’s Clairborne Breeders’ Futurity is a major graded stakes race for juveniles on the Kentucky Derby Trail.
The Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup is the last Grade 1 stakes race in the Fall Meet at Keeneland. The race is open to three-year-old fillies and the prize purse is also $600,000. Presented by Dixiana, the invitational Challenge Cup is 1 1/8 miles on turf.
Learn about all of the Grade 1 races at Santa Anita Park next.
