Keeneland’s Fall Meet is underway. These horses have secured a spot in the Breeders’ Cup.

Keeneland’s annual Fall Meet got underway this past weekend, accompanied by picturesque weather conditions.

Under sunny skies and temperatures that rose into the low 80s, horse racing returned to Central Kentucky for the opening days of the 17-day Fall Meet. Keeneland’s dirt track was fast and the turf course was firm for opening weekend.

Friday’s card featured 10 races, including three stakes races that served as win-and-in qualifiers for corresponding races in next month’s Breeders’ Cup, to be held at Del Mar in California.

Saturday’s card had 11 races, with five stakes races and three races that functioned as win-and-in qualifiers for the Breeders’ Cup.

Sunday’s card had 10 races, with three stakes races and two races that served as win-and-in qualifiers for the Breeders’ Cup.

The opening weekend of Keeneland’s Fall Meet, as usual, was billed as Fall Stars Weekend. From Friday through Sunday, Fall Stars Weekend offered $5.8 million in purses across 11 stakes races at Keeneland, 10 of which were graded stakes.

Carl Spackler wins the richest race in Keeneland history

A notable piece of racing history was set Saturday night at Keeneland.

Carl Spackler claimed the Grade 1, $1.25 million Coolmore Turf Mile, which was the richest race in the history of the Lexington track.

Ridden by Tyler Gaffalione and trained by Chad Brown, Carl Spackler covered 1 mile on Keeneland’s firm turf course in 1:34.23 and won the Turf Mile by 1 length.

“He proved he was best today,” Gaffalione said postrace of Carl Spackler, who is now 7-1-0 in 10 career starts. “He’s a tremendous athlete. All the credit goes to Chad and his team.”

As a result of his big-money win, the Ireland-bred Carl Spackler also now has a spot in the Grade 1, $2 million Breeders’ Cup Mile, to be run Nov. 2 at Del Mar.

Carl Spackler was the heavy 1-1 odds favorite in Saturday’s Turf Mile at Keeneland. Carl Spackler’s victory gave the trainer, Brown, his 50th Keeneland stakes win and the jockey, Gaffalione, his 30th Keeneland stakes win.

East Avenue wins Breeders’ Futurity, earns Kentucky Derby points

East Avenue is now tied for the early lead atop the Kentucky Derby qualifying leaderboard after winning the Grade 1, $600,000 Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity on Saturday evening at Keeneland.

Ridden by Gaffalione and trained by Brendan Walsh, East Avenue eased to victory by 5 1/4 lengths at 5-2 odds while covering 1 1/16 miles on Keeneland’s fast dirt track in 1:43.17.

Gaffalione won the last two stakes races on Saturday’s Keeneland card: The Breeders’ Futurity and the Turf Mile.

With the win, East Avenue collects 10 Derby qualifying points, which ties him with Jonathan’s Way for the early lead atop the Derby standings.

“I’ve been lucky enough to have a couple of very good horses the last two years, especially with (owner) Godolphin, and he seemed like he was right up there,” Walsh, the trainer, said after the race. “I was just waiting for confirmation. I think he’s a very special horse.”

Also collecting Derby qualifying points as a result of their top-five finishes in the Breeders’ Futurity were:

▪ Ferocious (five Derby points for finishing second).

▪ Filoso (three Derby points for finishing third).

▪ Dapper Moon (two Derby points for finishing fourth).

▪ Mesero (one Derby point for finishing fifth).

Two horses from last year’s Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity field — West Saratoga and Just Steel — went on to run in the Kentucky Derby, although neither horse finished in the money in either race.

In the immediate future, East Avenue now has a spot secured in the Grade 1, $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, to be run Nov. 1 at Del Mar.

Immersive wins Darley Alcibiades, earns Kentucky Oaks points

Immersive proved to be the class of the field in Friday evening’s marquee race, the Grade 1, $600,000 Darley Alcibiades.

Ridden by Manny Franco and trained by Brad Cox, Immersive covered 1 1/16 miles on Keeneland’s fast dirt track in 1:44.64. She went off at 8-5 odds. Immersive now owns a spot in the Grade 1, $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, to be run Nov. 1 at Del Mar.

“It’s a big win for her,” Cox said postrace. “She always acted like she would carry her talent around two turns. I want to thank Manny Franco for being aggressive and putting her in the race.”

Additionally, the Immersive now finds herself tied for the early lead atop the Kentucky Oaks qualifying leaderboard.

The Darley Alcibiades is a Kentucky Oaks prep race, with the top five finishers in the event given Oaks qualifying points on a 10-5-3-2-1 scale.

Immersive — who won the Alcibiades by 1 1/4 lengths over Quickick — is tied with La Cara, a Mark Casse trainee, with 10 Oaks qualifying points to lead all potential runners.

“She’s a grinder and today she broke running,” Franco, the jockey, added about Immersive. “That was the plan: To break running and go forward. She was traveling so comfortable. I was pleased with what I had under me. It was a matter of time. At the quarter pole I asked her for more, and she took a little bit to get going, but she got it done. She’s a nice filly.”

None of the eight horses that ran in last year’s edition of the Darley Alcibiades made the 14-horse starting gate for this year’s Kentucky Oaks. But Immersive has been impressive in her young racing career: She is now 3-for-3 on the track for Cox, who won the Kentucky Oaks in 2018 and 2020.

May Day Ready wins three-way photo finish in the Jessamine

A thrilling end to the Grade 2, $350,000 Jessamine on Friday saw May Day Ready — ridden by Frankie Dettori and trained by Joseph Lee — win a three-way photo finish over second-place Totally Justified and third-place Destino d’Oro.

The legendary Dettori piloted May Day Ready to the narrowest of victories as the middle horse in a three-horse photo in a winning time of 1:44.10 over 1 1/16 miles on the firm Keeneland turf course.

“She had to do it the hard way. She got a bit restless in the gate and a bit keen in the first turn. I had to go the ‘brave man route,’” Dettori said. “The gaps were a lot smaller than I anticipated, but she skipped through it.”

As a result of her win, May Day Ready — who went off at 4-1 odds — now has a spot in the Grade 1, $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf on Nov. 1 at Del Mar.

May Day Ready is now 3-for-3 in her racing career.

A postrace objection in the Jessamine failed to change the original finishing order.

Just prior to the race, Isle of Capri — who was set to depart from post position No. 2 — was a late scratch after acting up in the starting gate. All horses were reloaded into the starting gate following Isle of Capri’s antics.

Gina Romantica goes back-to-back in the First Lady

Gina Romantica, a Brown trainee, made it consecutive wins in the Grade 1, $750,000 First Lady at Keeneland with a strong effort on Saturday afternoon.

Trained by Brown and ridden by Jose Ortiz, Gina Romantica won by 2 lengths over Chili Flag in the 1-mile race on Keeneland’s firm turf course.

“It was beautiful. She loves it here,” Ortiz said post race of Gina Romantica. “The break was key today. She broke very alert and put me into a great position going into the first turn. I was very happy throughout the backside, and when we hit the quarter pole, there was an opening between two horses and she exploded.”

Gina Romantica is now 6-3-1 in 16 career starts, and she’s shown a particular ability to run well at Keeneland. Gina Romantica now has three wins at Keeneland, including the last two editions of the First Lady.

Brown was the trainer for the top-three finishers in this race.

This was the 27th running of the First Lady, and only Gina Romantica and Uni (GB) have won the race in consecutive years. Uni triumphed in both 2019 and 2020.

Federal Judge dominates the Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix

The first of the 22 stakes races to go off at Keeneland for the Fall Meet was won Friday by Federal Judge, who captured the Grade 2, $350,000 Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix in commanding fashion.

Ridden by Flavien Prat and trained by Cox, Federal Judge covered 6 furlongs on Keeneland’s fast dirt track in 1:08.20, finishing 5 1/2 lengths ahead of second-place Nakatomi. This was the largest margin of victory in the Phoenix since 1995.

“He made it look simple,” Prat, the winning jockey, said afterward. “He broke very well today. … He broke sharp and got himself into the race and did the rest. I thought he was going a good clip, but he was comfortable and he was at ease.”

As a result of winning the Phoenix, Federal Judge now has a spot in the Grade 1, $2 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint on Nov. 2 at Del Mar.

Federal Judge is now 4-1-0 in six career starts.

Our Shot wins the Woodford at Keeneland

Saturday’s first stakes race at Keeneland was won by Our Shot, who went off at 5-1 odds before going on to win the Grade 2, $350,000 Woodford.

Ridden by Luis Saez and trained by John Terranova, Our Shot covered 5 1/2 furlongs on a firm Keeneland turf course in 1:02.36. Arzak, the race’s defending winner, ran third.

“The plan with him was to try to take him out there, and everything came like we planned. We really liked him for this race. His last two races at Saratoga were a little tricky,” Saez said. “We had a lot of trouble, but we couldn’t wait to be here today and were pretty comfortable that he was going to do a pretty good race.”

Following his win in the Woodford, Saez posed for a photo in the Keeneland winner’s circle with class of 2025 Kentucky men’s basketball commit Malachi Moreno.

Steve Asmussen trainee wins the Thoroughbred Club of America

Zeitlos now has a spot in the Grade 1, $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint — to be run Nov. 2 at Del Mar — after winning the Grade 2, $350,000 Thoroughbred Club of America on Saturday at Keeneland.

Ridden by Jose Ortiz and trained by Steve Asmussen, Zeitlos ran 6 furlongs on Keeneland’s fast dirt track in 1:09.52.

“She’s a closer so I just wanted to wait as long as I could,” Ortiz said. “I was in good range at the quarter pole, and I felt like was sitting on a ton of horse. I saw the rail opening up and I went for it. I had a lot of horse. She was much the best today.”

Zeitlos is now 8-4-1 in 16 career starts. A 4-year-old Kentucky-bred daughter of Curlin, Zeitlos now has more than a million dollars in career race earnings.

Idiomatic continues to be the horse to beat in Juddmonte Spinster

Idiomatic remained the horse to beat in the Grade 1, $600,000 Juddmonte Spinster on Sunday.

Ridden by Florent Geroux and trained by Cox, Idiomatic won the Juddmonte Spinster for the second straight year after hitting the wire first after traveling 1 1/8 miles on Keeneland’s dirt track. Idiomatic won by a distant 6 1/2 lengths.

Now, Idiomatic has a spot, once again, in the Grade 1, $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff, to be run Nov. 2 at Del Mar. The 5-year-old Idiomatic — who is now the fifth horse to win the Juddmonte Spinster in consecutive years — went off in this year’s race as the overwhelming favorite at 1-5 odds.

“Her figures say she’s just as good this year as she was last year,” Cox said postrace. “She’s training every bit as good this year as last year. This year she’s had a little bit of a target on her back. She’s been pressed in some races, where maybe last year she kind of had things her own way. She doesn’t always have to be on the lead. Overall it’s been a great year.”

Idiomatic has now won 12 of 17 career starts, including both the Juddmonte Spinster and Breeders’ Cup Distaff last year, along with career earnings of nearly $4 million.

In 2023, Idiomatic won the Eclipse Award as champion older dirt female.

Minaret Station pulls major upset in Castle and Key Bourbon

The final race of Sunday’s 10-race card at Keeneland ended in a major upset win for Minaret Station in the Grade 2, $350,000 Castle and Key Bourbon.

Ridden by Cristian Torres and trained by Will Walden, Minaret Station charged late to capture a win at 38-1 odds after traveling 1 1/16 miles on Keeneland’s turf course. Minaret Station won by 1 1/2 lengths.

“This turf course has been pretty fair all week. Horses have closed on it well,” Walden said postrace. “As he moved up to the quarter pole I was just hoping the speed didn’t back up in his face, and it didn’t. Cristian navigated it beautifully and the horse exploded. He got it done.”

This was Walden’s first Keeneland stakes win as a trainer.

With the win, Minaret Station earned a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, to be run Nov. 1 at Del Mar.

Sunday’s card at Keeneland also included the $250,000 Indian Summer (Listed), a stakes race won by Governor Sam. The horse was ridden by Paco Lopez and trained by George Weaver.

The win was Lopez’s 4,000th as a jockey. Lopez is the 84th North American rider to win 4,000 races, and five of his wins have come in Keeneland stakes races.

Houston Astros baseball player Alex Bregman is part of Governor Sam’s ownership group.

Notable moments from opening weekend at Keeneland Fall Meet

The first race of the Keeneland Fall Meet was won early Friday afternoon by Bernin Hot, a Christopher Davis trainee who went off at 4-1 odds and was ridden by Saez.

Friday’s card also delivered a big early long-shot winner: C’Est Cheese won the third race of the day at 34-1 odds. She was ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr. — the winner of last year’s Kentucky Oaks aboard Thorpedo Anna and Kentucky Derby on Mystik Dan — and trained by Louisville native Whit Beckman.

After 31 races over the first three days of the Fall Meet, Gaffalione leads the race for the jockey title with five victories. In the early race for the training title, Cox leads with four wins.

Construction at Keeneland continues during Fall Meet

This year’s Fall Meet at Keeneland is continuing at full capacity while a nearly $100 million renovation project continues at the Lexington track. The construction project began in January and centers around a three-level Paddock Building that will run the length of Keeneland’s Paddock and Walking Ring.

Changes as a result of the project — which is scheduled to be completed in September 2025 — are already visible at Keeneland.

Behind the Paddock and Walking Ring, steel beams soar into the sky as the new Paddock Building takes shape. As was the case for the Spring Meet, the East Gate is not in use. A new East Gate entrance and a new jockeys quarters are both also part of the Keeneland renovation project.

Keeneland expects the new Paddock Building to offer about 1,400 more tickets for the public on race days.

More stakes races to be run as part of Keeneland’s Fall Meet

The stakes races still yet to be run at Keeneland during this year’s Fall Meet are:

Oct. 11: $300,000 Sycamore (Grade 3).

Oct. 12: $750,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (Grade 1).

Oct. 13: $350,000 Franklin (Grade 2).

Oct. 19: $350,000 Lexus Raven Run (Grade 2) and $300,000 Perryville (Grade 3).

Oct. 20: $300,000 Rood & Riddle Dowager (Grade 3).

Oct. 25: $350,000 Bank of America Valley View (Grade 2) and $200,000 Myrtlewood.

Oct. 26: $600,000 Bryan Station (Grade 3), $350,000 Hagyard Fayette (Grade 2) and $200,000 Bowman Mill.

This story was originally published October 4, 2024 at 6:34 PM.

Cameron Drummond

Lexington Herald-Leader

859-242-5257

Cameron Drummond works as a sports reporter for the Lexington Herald-Leader with a focus on Kentucky men’s basketball recruiting and the UK men’s basketball team, horse racing, soccer and other sports in Central Kentucky. Drummond is a second-generation American who was born and raised in Texas, before graduating from Indiana University. He is a fluent Spanish speaker who previously worked as a community news reporter in Austin, Texas. Support my work with a digital subscription