LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Keeneland’s 17-day fall meet will feature 18 graded stakes races worth $4.775 million, including 10 offering automatic berths in the season-ending Breeders’ Cup Championships to be held at the historic track.
The Breeders’ Cup will be run at Keeneland for the second time on Nov. 6-7 and first since 2015. Nine of those qualifiers will run on Fall Stars Opening Weekend, highlighted by two Grade 1 races on Oct. 3: the $750,000 Shadwell Turf Mile for 3-year-olds and up and the $400,000 Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity for 2-year-olds. Opening day on Oct. 2 features the $350,000 Grade 1 Darley Alcibiades for 2-year-old fillies to be run over 1 1/16 miles.
Keeneland’s Grade 2 $150,000 Jessamine for 2-year-old fillies on Oct. 7 closes the Breeders’ Cup Challenge events. The Grade 1 $500,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup for fillies on Oct. 10 will serve as a prep for the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Keeneland’s meet will run through Oct. 24 and follows a five-day special summer meeting after the coronavirus pandemic cancelled its spring schedule.