FallStars Weekend kicks off Keeneland meet

Irish Smoke and company will get the Keeneland stakes schedule started off with the Alcibiades on Friday (Deborah Kral/Horsephotos.com) Keeneland kicks off a blockbuster month of racing on Friday with its signature FallStars Weekend, a showcase for many potential Breeders' Cup contenders, as well as several exciting new wagers for race fans. The fall stakes program is the richest in Keeneland history, worth a record $5.3 million in total purse money. FallStars Weekend has been expanded to include nine stakes, four of which are Grade 1 races -- the $500,000 Alcibiades, the $600,000 Shadwell Turf Mile, the $500,000 Breeders' Futurity, and the $500,000 Spinster. IRISH SMOKE (Smoke Glacken), the undefeated winner of the Spinaway S. (G1) at Saratoga, and Arlington-Washington Lassie S. (G3) queen DREAMING OF LIZ (El Prado [Ire]) will vie for the leadership of the two-year-old filly division in Friday's opening day Alcibiades. The 8 1/2-furlong event attracted 13 entrants. A TO THE CROFT (Menifee) closed well for runner-up honors in the Spinaway and is sure to be well supported under Kent Desormeaux. Other contenders for the Alcibiades, which was elevated to Grade 1 status in 2007, include RASIERRA (Kafwain) and MINEWANDER (Mineshaft), who finished second and third in the Arlington-Washington Lassie, and MORAKAMI (Fusaichi Pegasus), who finished fourth in the Spinaway. The field, in post position order with jockeys, is INITIATION (Deputy Minister), Garrett Gomez; Dreaming of Liz, E.T. Baird; Morakami, Javier Castellano; Irish Smoke, Julien Leparoux; Minewander, Larry Melancon; FRENCH KISS (Hussonet), Joe Johnson; STARTSWAMPINDOWSKI (El Corredor), Shaun Bridgmohan; BEE'S WAX (Quiet American), Rene Douglas; GRACE ANATOMY (Aldebaran), Mike Smith; COUNTRY STAR (Empire Maker), Rafael Bejarano; Rasierra, Jamie Theriot; A to the Croft; and SUNDAY HOLIDAY (Sunday Break [Jpn]), Robby Albarado. All starters will carry 118 pounds.

One race earlier, a competitive field of 10 older horses will travel 1 1/2

miles on the turf in the $150,000 Sycamore S. (G3). BIG PRAIRIE (Danzig) and

SILVER WHISTLE (Alphabet Soup), who finished second and eighth, respectively, in

the Bernard Baruch H. (G2) at Saratoga, and distance specialist DREADNAUGHT (Lac

Ouimet), who ran second in the 2005 Sycamore, could all vie for favoritism.

The Sycamore field, from the inside out, with jockeys and weights, consists

of HOLDING COURT (Royal Kingdom [Ire]), Calvin Borel, 125; DESERT WHEAT (Wheaton), Corey

Lanerie, 120; TRANSDUCTION GOLD (Formal Gold), James Graham, 120; LOUVE DES

REVES (Ire) (Sadler's Wells), Leparoux, 117; FLIGHT CAPTAIN (GB) (In the Wings

[GB]), Gomez, 120; Dreadnaught, Albarado, 120; Big Prairie, Castellano, 120;

Silver Whistle, Desormeaux, 122; BEE CHARMER (Ire) (Anabaa), Bridgmohan, 120;

and CROWN POINT (Honor Grades), Bejarano, 120.

Race fans can participate in the FallStars fun by playing the

$200,000-guaranteed Friday Pick 4 (offered every Friday during the live meet),

Saturday's $150,000-guaranteed Pick 6, and Sunday's $500,000-guaranteed

Breeders' Cup Challenge All Stakes Pick 4.

Saturday's Pick 6 comprises the $300,000 Thoroughbred Club of America S. (G3),

the $250,000 Phoenix S. (G3), the $400,000 First Lady S. (G2), the Breeders' Futurity (G1),

the Shadwell Turf Mile (G1) and an overnight race.

Keeneland will partner with the Oak Tree Racing Association at Santa Anita on

Sunday's Breeders' Cup Challenge All Stakes Pick 4, which includes

Keeneland's Spinster, and Oak Tree's Ancient Title S. (G1), Lady's

Secret H. (G1) and Oak Tree Mile (G2).

Five stakes on FallStars Weekend are part of the new Breeders' Cup Challenge

"Win and You're In" series. Winners of the Shadwell Turf Mile and Breeders' Futurity, as well as the First Lady and Phoenix on

Saturday, and the Spinster on Sunday, automatically qualify for the corresponding

divisional race in the Breeders' Cup World Championships on October 27 at

Monmouth Park. ESPN and

ESPN2 will provide full coverage.

Keeneland's fall meet has become a popular springboard for the Breeders' Cup.

Last year, the first three finishers in the Breeders' Futurity -- Great Hunter

(Aptitude), Circular Quay (Thunder Gulch) and Street Sense (Street Cry [Ire]) --

ran 1-2-3, in reverse order, in

the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1). Miesque's Approval (Miesque's Son), fourth in

the Shadwell, won the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1).

The following weekend, Keeneland will present the $100,000 Franklin County S.

on October 12, the $500,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup

S. (G1) and the $200,000 Perryville S. (G3) on October 13, and the $150,000

Bryan Station S. on October 14.

The stakes schedule also includes the $150,000 Valley View S. (G3) on October

19

and the $300,000 Raven Run S. (G2) on October 20. The $150,000 Fayette S. (G3)

is the closing day feature on October 27.

In addition to spectacular racing, the fall meet features a full calendar of

special events, beginning Friday with the Darley Alcibiades giveaway -- a set of

two Darley tumblers will be given away free to the first 3,000 patrons with paid admission.

Keeneland's popular College Scholarship Day returns on Friday, October 12.

Full-time college students can register to win one of 10, $1,000 scholarships or

video iPods to be given away in random drawings after each of the day's races.

The first 1,000 students to register will receive a free long-sleeve Keeneland

College Scholarship Day T-shirt.

The Lexington Mounted Police will be on hand on Saturday for Keeneland's

Breakfast with the Works. Held each Saturday from 7-8:30 a.m. (EDT) during the

race meet, Breakfast With the Works offers fans a southern-style breakfast, free

children's activities, and a chance to get a close-up look at their favorite

stars.

Racing will be conducted Wednesdays through Sundays. First-race post time is

1:15 p.m.