Keeneland Sets $5.2M Fall Stakes Schedule

Keeneland will offer a $5.275 million stakes schedule for its 2016 fall meet, including eight graded events that are part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge schedule.

The 17-day meet runs from Oct. 7-29. The fall meet will mark the 80th anniversary of the Lexington track, which opened Oct. 15, 1936.

Last year Keeneland hosted the Breeders' Cup World Championships for the first time. Track officials said that since Breeders' Cup began in 1984, winners of 43 Breeders' Cup races competed at Keeneland in their previous starts.

"The Breeders' Cup sparked attention and showcased Keeneland to a global audience," Keeneland president and chief executive officer Bill Thomason said in a release. "The momentum generated by that championship event continues to positively impact our business, contributing to strong gains during our recent spring meet and attracting horsemen and visitors from all corners of the world."

Fall Stars Weekend Oct. 7-9 will offer nine graded stakes. The Oct. 7 card will feature the $400,000 Darley Alcibiades (gr. I) for 2-year-old fillies and $250,000 Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix (gr. II) for 3-year-olds and up; both carry Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" status. The last two winners of the Phoenix—Runhappy and Work All Week—went on to capture the Breeders' Cup Sprint (gr. I).

The Phoenix, formerly grade III, is one of two fall races that received upgrades from the American Graded Stakes Committee. The other is Oct. 14 Buffalo Trace Franklin County, a turf sprint for fillies and mares that is now a grade III turf event.

The Oct. 8 program is headed by the $1 million Shadwell Turf Mile (gr. IT) for 3-year-olds and up; $500,000 Claiborne Breeders' Futurity (gr. I) for 2-year-olds; $400,000 First Lady Stakes (gr. IT) for fillies and mares; $250,000 Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes (gr. II) for filly and mare sprinters; and $150,000 Woodford Presented by Keeneland Select (gr. IIIT) for turf sprinters. The Turf Mile, Breeders' Futurity, and Thoroughbred Club of America are Challenge races.

The $500,000 Juddmonte Spinster Stakes (gr. I) for fillies and mares and $250,000 Dixiana Bourbon Stakes (gr. IIIT) for 2-year-olds will be run Oct. 9 and serve as Breeders' Cup Challenge events. The final "Win and You're In" stakes is the Oct. 12 JPMorgan Chase Jessamine (gr. IIIT) for 2-year-old fillies.