[1] ***Links to handicapping analysis of Keeneland's Saturday stakes action at bottom of article.
The spring racing meet is well underway at Keeneland Racecourse [3]in Lexington, Kentucky. The four-week meet, which started April 6, features several special events and noteworthy stakes races, including this weekend’s Toyota Bluegrass Stakes for Kentucky Derby hopefuls. If you had to choose only one day during the meet in which to visit Keeneland, Saturday would be the day.
The Kentucky Derby trail rolls into town with a stellar field set to compete in the Grade 1 Toyota Bluegrass Stakes for three-year-old Kentucky Derby hopefuls on Saturday. Entries for the race include Two-Year-Old Champion and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Hansen, Dixiana Breeders’ Futurity winner Dullahan, and longshot Louisiana Derby winner Hero Of Order. The race is one of four scheduled stakes on Saturday’s card. In addition to the Toyota Bluegrass Stakes, the card also includes the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley Stakes for older fillies and mares, the Grade 2 Commonwealth Stakes for three-year-olds and up, and the Grade 3 Shakertown Stakes, a sprint for three-year-olds and up.
If fashion is more your calling, check out the Christine A. Moore Millinery Trunk Show in which you can buy your Kentucky Derby hat or fascinator, or grab some stylish ideas to create your own work of art. The trunk shows starts on Thursday and runs through Sunday.
Maybe you’d prefer to pick up a nice Kentucky-themed gift at the Keeneland Gift Shop. Author Jamie Nicholson will be on hand from 2-4 p.m. Saturday to sign his book The Kentucky Derby.
Or, if you can make it to Keeneland early Friday morning, pick up the limited edition Maker’s Mark commemorative bottle which celebrates University of Kentucky football player Tim Couch. Proceeds from the bottle benefit the Gill Heart Institute at UK HealthCare. A bottle signing is scheduled for 6:30 a.m. Friday morning with Couch, Maker’s Mark COO Rob Samuels, and Keeneland President and CEO Nick Nicholson. A Maker’s Mark dipping station will be available in the Keeneland Gift Shop where you can dip Keeneland or Maker’s Mark merchandise in Maker’s Mark’s signature red wax.
If you’re making your trip to Keeneland a family affair, start with Breakfast With the Works. Enjoy a Southern-style breakfast in the trackside Equestrian Room beginning at 7 a.m. Saturday. The cost for breakfast is $7 per person and free for children 3 and under. The event features children’s activities, trackside commentary on the horses working, and even a show-and-tell.
While enjoying breakfast, take the opportunity to introduce the kids to Keeneland’s new Kid's Club mascot, Buckles the horse. Keeneland's Kids Club is open to kids 12 and under and offers free activities on Saturdays including face painting, pin the tail on the horse, photos in jockey silks, and educational paddock demonstrations. If you can’t get the family moving early enough to make it to Breakfast With The Works, trackside show-and-tell begins at 9 a.m. and the paddock demonstration starts at 10 a.m. in the Keeneland paddock.
From 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., fans can have their picture taken with Keeneland’s legendary bugler George Bucky Sallee. Come to the winner’s circle apron for photo opportunities.
But if you're coming to Keeneland on Saturday for top thoroughbred racing, prepare for the All-Stakes Pick 4 Presented by TVG (a $250,000-guaranteed wager including the Toyota Blue Grass (G1), Jenny Wiley (G1), Commonwealth (G2) and Shakertown (G3)) with a free handicapping seminar by Tom Leach, managing editor of the Leach Report, trackside beginning at 11:30 a.m.
Saturday's first post is 1:05 p.m. and the first stakes (the Jenny Wiley) is scheduled to run at 4:42 p.m. Post time for the featured stakes, the Toyota Bluegrass Stakes, is 6:18 p.m. Gates open at 11:00 a.m. General admission is $5. For more information or to plan your visit, check out the Keeneland website [3] or download Keeneland’s mobile app.
I’ll be handicapping, recapping, and providing more information about Keeneland's latest offerings for fans throughout the day, so follow me on the Louisville.com [4] homepage, Louisville.com Facebook page [5], or follow me on Twitter @Jboswald68 [6].
Click here [7]to check out my handicapping analysis of the Toyota Bluegrass Stakes. For a recap, click here [8].
Click here [9]to check out my handicapping analysis of the Jenny Wiley Stakes.
Click here [10]to check out my handicapping analysis of the Commonwealth Stakes.
Click here [11]to check out my handicapping analysis of the Shakertown Stakes.
Photo: Cover, Zach Everson [12]; Article, J.Oswald