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Keeneland kicks off spring meet Keeneland, the picturesque track located in the heart of the Bluegrass, begins its 16-day spring race meeting on Friday in Lexington, Kentucky. No racing will be conducted on Mondays and Tuesdays. Post time is 1:15 p.m. (EDT). Keeneland will present 19 stakes races, 16 of which are graded, worth a record $4.4 million. Three of those stakes were recently upgraded for 2008 by the American Graded Stakes Committee. The Maker's Mark Mile was elevated from Grade 2 to Grade 1 status; the $200,000 Elkhorn was promoted from Grade 3 to Grade 2; and the Appalachian earned Grade 3 status. Purse money for the Maker's Mark Mile was increased from $250,000 to $300,000, while the Appalachian, Shakertown S. (G3) and Doubledogdare S. (G3) each increased from $100,000 to $125,000. Three-year-olds will take center stage in the $500,000 Ashland S. (G1) on Saturday and the $750,000 Blue Grass S. (G1) on April 12, traditional preps for the Kentucky Oaks (G1) and Kentucky Derby (G1), respectively. Champion Street Sense made his final start before his Kentucky Derby victory in last year's Blue Grass, finishing second by a nose to Dominican (El Corredor). Keeneland hosts an additional classic prep, the $325,000 Lexington S. (G2) on April 19. In other changes for the spring, the Appalachian and $150,000 Ben Ali S. (G3) were each moved up one week on the stakes calendar to April 16 and April 20, respectively. The distance for the opening day $150,000 Transylvania S. (G3) for three-year-olds has been lengthened from one mile to 1 1/16 miles on the turf. The Transylvania is named for the local university that was founded in the late 1700s. As such, Friday is also College Scholarship Day, an annual rite of spring for many area college students. This year's event features an added bonus -- in addition to 10 $1,000 scholarships, college students can register to win one of 10 Voyager phones to be given away after each race. The newly added $100,000 Fort Harrod S. will be one of three stakes held on April 19, joining the $100,000 Giant's Causeway S. and the Lexington. The 1 5/8-mile Fort Harrod is one of a nationwide series of distance races leading up to the inaugural running of the $500,000 Breeders' Cup Dirt Marathon. Other major stakes races include the $250,000 Beaumont S. (G2) on April 10; the $400,000 Commonwealth S. (G2) on Blue Grass Day; and the $150,000 Royal Chase for the Sport of Kings S. (NSA-G1), a 2 1/2-mile steeplechase event, on April 17. Keeneland will offer two new wagers during the spring meet -- the Super High Five and a Maker's Mark Mile/Blue Grass double. The Super High Five requires picking the first five finishers, in order, on the final race each day. If there are no winners, the pool carries over to the next day's race card. The minimum wager is $1. The Maker's Mark Mile/Blue Grass double requires picking the winners of the Maker's Mark Mile on turf and the Blue Grass on Polytrack on consecutive days, April 11 and 12. As usual, Keeneland will host "Breakfast with the Works" every Saturday.
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