NEWS
Keeneland to begin fall meeting with Fallstars Weekend
Posted: Wednesday, September 28, 2005
The 2005 fall meeting at Keeneland Race Course—the richest in the picturesque track's history—will open on Friday, October 7 and run through October 29, offering $10,533,000 in total purses for the 17-day meet.
The first weekend will feature seven graded stakes races, including three Grade 1 events that often serve as prep races for the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships—the Shadwell Turf Mile (G1), the Lane's End Breeders' Futurity (G1), and the Juddmonte Spinster Stakes (G1)—on October 29 at Belmont Park.
"At Keeneland, we strive to conduct racing at its highest level," said Rogers Beasley, the track's director of racing. "Our fall meet is expected once again to bring in the top horses and horsemen from around the world."
Billed as Fallstars Weekend, the Keeneland meet kicks off on October 7 with the $400,000 Darley Alcibiades Stakes (G2), a 1 1/16-mile dirt race for two-year-old fillies; and the Sycamore Breeders' Cup Stakes (G3), a 1 1/2-mile turf race for three-year-olds and older.
The $600,000 Shadwell Turf Mile Stakes (G1) and $500,000 Lane's End Breeders' Futurity (G1) highlight Saturday's card. The Shadwell often is used as a springboard to the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) later in October, while the Breeders' Futurity, a 1 1/16-mile dirt race for three-year-olds, is considered a top prep race for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1).
Sunday's card on Keeneland's opening weekend will feature the Juddmonte Spinster Stakes (G1), a 1 1/8-mile dirt race for fillies and mares three years old and older, a traditional stepping-stone to the Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1). The $400,000 WinStar Galaxy Stakes (G2) and the $100,000 Woodford County Stakes will also be held on Sunday.
The fourth and final Grade 1 race of the meeting will be the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes Stakes (G1), a 1 1/8-mile turf race for three-year-old fillies scheduled for October 15.
Six races received purse increases totaling $475,000 with The Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes (G3), a six-furlong dirt spring for fillies and mares three years old and older, seeing the most substantial increase of $175,000.
