Blue Grass moved a week earlier, purse bumped to $1 million

Keeneland announced a richer, re-ordered

2015

spring

meet stakes calendar comprised of 16 stakes worth $4.35 million, an increase of

$575,000 from 2014. Seven stakes carry significant purse increases, led by the

Grade 1, $1 million Blue Grass, to be held one week earlier, on opening

Saturday, April 4, creating a blockbuster day of racing that features four other

graded stakes, including the Grade 1, $500,000 Ashland and Grade 1, $350,000 Madison.

With the purse increase, the Blue Grass, for

three-year-olds going 1 1/8 miles, ranks as one of North America's richest Kentucky

Derby preps. It becomes Keeneland's second million-dollar stakes, following

the fall meet's Grade 1 Shadwell Turf Mile, which was increased to $1 million

earlier this year. The Blue Grass was

previously worth $750,000.

The move will be the first date change for the Blue Grass

since the race was shifted from the final Thursday of the spring meet to the

second Saturday in 1989.

Three other stakes traditionally featured on the Blue Grass undercard will join the opening Saturday lineup and each has earned a

purse enhancement: the $350,000 Madison, for older fillies and

mares going seven furlongs, up $50,000 from last year; the $300,000 Commonwealth,

a Grade 3 event for older horses at seven furlongs, up $125,000; and the

$125,000 Shakertown, a Grade 3 contest for older horses at 5 1/2 furlongs on the turf, up $25,000.

The Ashland, for three-year-old fillies

competing at 1 1/16 miles, is a premier prep for the Kentucky Oaks and will

remain a fixture on the opening Saturday card.

"By moving the Toyota Blue Grass up a week on the calendar,

to be a month before the Kentucky Derby, and elevating the purse to a million

dollars, we further enhance its stature as a nationally prominent classic prep,"

Keeneland Vice President of Racing W.B. Rogers Beasley said. "The coupling of

these two Keeneland icons -- the Blue Grass and the Ashland -- will make for a

spectacular day of racing and give fans the opportunity to see top Derby and

Oaks contenders."

The Blue Grass and Ashland are worth

100 points each to the winners on the Road to the Kentucky Derby and Road

to the Kentucky Oaks series of points races, respectively.

The early nomination deadline for the Blue Grass and

Ashland is February 21; late nominations are due March 25.

The shifting of the spring meet stakes calendar provided

Keeneland an opportunity to strengthen the Grade 3 Lexington, a Kentucky

Derby prep for three-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles, which moves up a week to Saturday,

April 11, and carries a boosted value of $250,000, up from $200,000 last year.

It awards 10 points to the winner for a berth in the Kentucky Derby starting

gate.

Lexington Day anchors a strong second weekend of

racing, April 10-12, which kicks off Friday with the Grade 1, $300,000 Maker's 46 Mile, for older horses on the turf. The

Grade 1, $300,000 Jenny Wiley, for older

fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on the turf, remains in its traditional spot

on the second Saturday, April 11.

Moving up a week to join that day's undercard

are the Grade 3, $150,000 Ben Ali (G3), for older horses at 1 1/8 miles, and the $100,000

Giant's Causeway, for older fillies and mares at 5 1/2 furlongs on the turf.

Three-year-old fillies will be showcased with two stakes on

Sunday, April 12 -- the Grade 2 Beaumont and Grade 3 Appalachian. The Beaumont, for

three-year-old fillies at a distance of seven

furlongs, 184 feet, will offer a purse of $250,000 versus $200,000 in 2014. The

purse for the Appalachian, for sophomore fillies at one mile on the turf, has

been raised from $100,000 to $125,000. That race has been moved up four days on

the stakes calendar.

In the final change to the spring meet stakes schedule, the

Grade 2, $250,000 Elkhorn, for older horses over 1 1/2 miles on the turf, has

been changed from closing day to Saturday, April 18. The Grade 3, $150,000 Bewitch,

for older fillies and mares at 1 1/2 miles on the turf, will now be the closing-day

feature.

The 15-day spring meet will feature racing Wednesdays

through Sundays; no racing will be conducted on Easter Sunday, April 5. Post

time for the first race each day is 1:05 p.m. (ET).

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