A filly in the Blue Grass Stakes? It’s possible for Keeneland’s intriguing Summer Meet.
Three months after the Keeneland Spring Meet was wiped out due to the coronavirus pandemic, horse racing will return to the Lexington track this week with a different look.
There will be no fans in attendance, but this abbreviated Summer Meet will pack plenty of high-profile races into a five-day period. And at least a couple of Kentucky Derby hopefuls should emerge to continue on the trail to Churchill Downs.
Here’s a look at the highlights going into the Summer Meet, which starts Wednesday and runs through Sunday, along with how to follow along (and wager) at home:
Blue Grass Stakes
There are 10 graded stakes on the five-day schedule — including four Grade 1 races — but it’ll be the Grade 2 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes on Saturday that gets the most attention. The Blue Grass Stakes is one of three 100-point Derby prep races remaining in this unorthodox lead-up to the Run for the Roses, and — based on the current points standings — at least the top two finishers in Saturday’s race should qualify for a spot in the Derby starting gate Sept. 5.
The draw for the Blue Grass Stakes is set for Wednesday, and the early list of possible entrants includes some intrigue.
Swiss Skydiver, who is currently No. 1 in points on the Kentucky Oaks leaderboard, has been nominated by trainer Kenny McPeek for both the Blue Grass Stakes and Saturday’s Grade 1 Central Bank Ashland Stakes, the track’s premier race for 3-year-old fillies.
McPeek has said he won’t decide on which way Swiss Skydiver will go until Wednesday morning, but he’s also said it’s his inclination not to run Swiss Skydiver and another of his talented fillies, Envoutante, in the same race. Envoutante is set to run in the Ashland Stakes.
If Swiss Skydiver does go to the Blue Grass, it would create some added buzz for that race, and possibly the Kentucky Derby. The daughter of Daredevil is already nominated for the Triple Crown, and a victory in the Blue Grass Stakes would only increase the chatter for a possible Derby start. It’s worth noting that no filly has ever won the Blue Grass Stakes and, according to Keeneland’s records, only one filly has run in the race since its inception in 1937: Harriet Sue, who finished fifth in 1944.
Swiss Skydiver has won her last three races, most recently the Grade 2 Santa Anita Oaks. Devil May Care, the last filly to run in the Kentucky Derby, finished 10th in 2010, and no filly has won the Derby since Winning Colors in 1988.
Top probables for the Blue Grass Stakes include Basin, who finished second to Charlatan in one of the Arkansas Derby races in May; Enforceable, the winner of the Lecomte Stakes earlier this year; and Art Collector, who was impressive winning a recent Churchill Downs allowance race.
Loaded Saturday schedule
The Blue Grass will be just one of the highlights of a stellar Saturday card that includes five other major races: the Grade 1 Ashland, the Grade 1 Coolmore Jenny Wiley, the Grade 1 Madison, the Grade 2 Shakertown and the Grade 2 Appalachian.
Those races will include some contenders that are sure to show up for the Breeders’ Cup, which is slated to be run Nov. 6-7 at Keeneland.
Even if Swiss Skydiver opts for the Blue Grass Stakes, the Ashland will have its share of stars in the 3-year-old filly division. The probables list for that race includes three Grade 2 winners — Bonny South, Tonalist’s Shape and Venetian Harbor — and all three of those fillies should be safely in the Kentucky Oaks based on qualifying points.
Keeneland is offering a $500,000 guaranteed “All-Stakes Pick Five” and a $500,000 guaranteed “All-Stakes Pick Four” based around Saturday’s schedule.
Other races to watch
The action begins Wednesday with a 1:05 p.m. first post for a nine-race card, and the series of graded stakes races will start with Friday’s card. The headliner on that day will be the Grade 1 Maker’s Mark Mile, which should feature Raging Bull, a two-time Grade 1 winner who has already qualified for the Breeders’ Cup Mile. That race is also expected to include War of Will, the winner of last year’s Preakness Stakes who had a troubled trip in the 2019 Kentucky Derby.
Other graded stakes on the summer meet schedule include the Grade 3 Beaumont on Friday and the Grade 2 TVG Elkhorn and Grade 3 Kentucky Utilities Transylvania, both scheduled for Sunday.
How to watch, wager
You can’t go out to the track this week — only “horsemen and essential staff” will be permitted on the Keeneland grounds — but that doesn’t mean you can’t follow along at home.
TVG will have live, on-site coverage beginning at 1 p.m. on every day of the Summer Meet. (First post each day is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.). Fans can also stream each day’s entire card on Keeneland.com, KeenelandSelect.com, and the track’s Facebook Live and YouTube channels, beginning at 12:55 p.m. each day.
Racing analysts Gabby Gaudet and Scott Hazelton will host “Today at Keeneland,” a 30-minute show that will feature handicapping picks and discussion of horses of interest. That program will air each day at 11:30 a.m. and can be found on TVG2, The CW Lexington and WKYT.com, along with Keeneland’s online and streaming channels.
There will also be a “pregame show” that airs each day at 12:15 p.m. on the Keeneland Facebook Live and YouTube channels called “Keeneland at Home Presented by Central Bank,” which will feature various “race-day experiences to kick off your at-home watch party,” including lessons in betting, libations prepared by Maker’s Mark, and handicapping picks.
NBC Sports Network will have live coverage of Sunday’s racing from 5-7 p.m.
Fans can bet online using KeenelandSelect.com (and other online wagering sites, such as TVG.com) and drive-thru betting lanes at the Red Mile will also be open each day from 8 a.m. until the final post.
The track website’s “Keeneland at Home” page also includes a free digital program that can be downloaded for each day’s race card, as well as additional information on wagering and where fans can purchase physical copies of a race-day program.
Keeneland Summer Meet
When: Wednesday through Sunday
Where: Keeneland Race Course in Lexington
First post: 1:05 p.m each day
TV: All races on TVG. Sunday’s stakes races on NBC Sports Network from 5-7 p.m.
Admission: No spectators allowed because of COVID-19
