Purse Increase, Date Change for Blue Grass

Keeneland will run the Toyota Blue Grass (gr. I) a week earlier on the schedule beginning next season and increase the purse to $1 million for its major Triple Crown prep race.

The Blue Grass, which offered a $750,000 purse from 1999-2014, now will carry a seven-figure purse and be conducted four weeks before the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I).

The added purse money and time between the Blue Grass and the Derby should prove attractive to horsemen, who in recent years have favored the additional week between the final Derby prep race and the Louisville classic. 

The move will be the first date change for the Blue Grass since the race was shifted in 1989 from the final Thursday of the spring meet to the second Saturday. It will join the Central Bank Ashland Stakes (gr. I), for 3-year-old fillies and a prep for the Kentucky Oaks (gr. I), on a day that will showcase many of the nation's top 3-year-olds, male and female.

In announcing its spring stakes schedule Dec. 5, Keeneland said three other stakes traditionally featured on the Toyota Blue Grass undercard will join the opening Saturday lineup.

Each has earned a purse enhancement: the $350,000 Madison, a grade I stakes for older fillies and mares going seven furlongs, up $50,000 from last year; the $300,000 Commonwealth (gr. III), for older horses at seven furlongs, up $125,000; and the Shakertown (gr. IIIT), for older horses at 5 1/2 furlongs on the turf, up $25,000. 

"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," said Keeneland vice president of racing Rogers Beasley. "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."

A richer, re-ordered 2015 spring meet stakes calendar consists of 16 stakes worth $4.35 million, a $575,000 increase from 2014. A total of seven stakes will carry significant purse increases. 

The Blue Grass becomes Keeneland's second million-dollar stakes, following the fall meet's Shadwell Turf Mile (gr. IT), which was increased to $1 million earlier this year. The Blue Grass and Central Bank Ashland are worth 100 points each to the winners on the Road to the Kentucky Derby and Road to the Kentucky Oaks, respectively. 

The early nomination deadline for the Toyota Blue Grass and Central Bank Ashland is Feb. 21; late nominations are due March 25.

The shifting of the spring meet stakes calendar also provided Keeneland an opportunity to strengthen the Coolmore Lexington (gr. III), a Kentucky Derby prep for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles, which moves up a week to April 11, and carries a boosted value of $250,000, up from $200,000 last year.   

The Coolmore Lexington program anchors a strong second weekend of racing, April 10-12, which kicks off Friday with the $300,000 Maker's 46 Mile (gr. IT), for older horses on the turf. The $300,000 Jenny Wiley (gr. IT), for older fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on the turf, remains in its traditional spot Saturday. Moving up a week to join that day's undercard are the $150,000 Ben Ali (gr. III), for older horses at 1 1/8 miles, and the $100,000 Giant's Causeway, for older fillies and mares at 51/2 furlongs on the turf. 

Three-year-old fillies will be showcased with two stakes on Sunday, April 12: the Beaumont (gr. II), now sponsored by the Stronach family's Adena Springs farm; and the Appalachian Presented by the Japan Racing Association (gr. IIIT). The Adena Springs Beaumont, for 3-year-old fillies at a distance of 7 furlongs, 184 feet, will offer a purse of $250,000 versus $200,000 in 2014. The purse for the Appalachian, for 3-year-old 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 $250,000 Dixiana Elkhorn (gr. IIT), for older horses at 1 1/2 miles on the turf, has been changed from closing day to Saturday, April 18. The $150,000 Bewitch (gr. IIIT), 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.