Lexington, KY (Oct 1, 2018) – Keeneland’s Fall Meet broke from the gate Friday, October 5, 2018 featuring 18 stakes worth a record $5.575 million and led by key Breeders’ Cup prep races. The Fall Meet ran October 5-27, with racing Wednesdays through Sundays.
Breeders’ Cup-bound horses headline Fall Meet racing
This fall, Keeneland awarded $5.575 million in stakes purses, a record for a season without the Breeders’ Cup World Championships. One of the richest race meets of the year in North America, Keeneland’s Fall Meet attracted racing’s equine stars representing leading owners, trainers and jockeys for its racing program, led by six Grade 1 races, six Grade 2 races and five Grade 3 races.
The Fall Meet spotlighted many top contenders for the Breeders’ Cup at Churchill Downs during its signature Fall Stars Weekend, on the opening three days of the season, Oct. 5-7. Since the inaugural Breeders’ Cup World Championships in 1984, the winners of 47 Breeders’ Cup races have made their final start before the event during Keeneland’s Fall Meet.
Fall Stars Weekend featured ten stakes worth a total of $3.95 million, anchored by the $1 million Shadwell Turf Mile (G1), celebrating its 20th year of sponsorship by Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s Shadwell Farm.
Nine Fall Stars stakes were Breeders’ Cup Challenge “Win and You’re In” races, which awarded the winners automatic berths in the Nov. 2-3 Breeders’ Cup. The newest Win and You’re In race was the Indian Summer, a 5½-furlong race on the turf for 2-year-olds worth $200,000 that secured for the winner a berth in the inaugural Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint on Nov. 2.
Keeneland’s 10th Breeders’ Cup Challenge race, on Wednesday, Oct. 10, was the $200,000 JPMorgan Chase Jessamine (G2), whose purse was increased $50,000 with the upgrade from a Grade 3 event in 2017. The JPMorgan Chase Jessamine awarded the winner a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1).
The Fall Meet’s sixth Grade 1 stakes, on Oct. 13, was the internationally prestigious $500,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Presented by Lane’s End. The invitational is for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/8 miles on the turf.
Find more information about racing at Keeneland at the website: Keeneland.com and on social media.
Breeders’ Cup-bound horses headline Fall Meet racing
This fall, Keeneland awarded $5.575 million in stakes purses, a record for a season without the Breeders’ Cup World Championships. One of the richest race meets of the year in North America, Keeneland’s Fall Meet attracted racing’s equine stars representing leading owners, trainers and jockeys for its racing program, led by six Grade 1 races, six Grade 2 races and five Grade 3 races.
The Fall Meet spotlighted many top contenders for the Breeders’ Cup at Churchill Downs during its signature Fall Stars Weekend, on the opening three days of the season, Oct. 5-7. Since the inaugural Breeders’ Cup World Championships in 1984, the winners of 47 Breeders’ Cup races have made their final start before the event during Keeneland’s Fall Meet.
Fall Stars Weekend featured ten stakes worth a total of $3.95 million, anchored by the $1 million Shadwell Turf Mile (G1), celebrating its 20th year of sponsorship by Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s Shadwell Farm.
Nine Fall Stars stakes were Breeders’ Cup Challenge “Win and You’re In” races, which awarded the winners automatic berths in the Nov. 2-3 Breeders’ Cup. The newest Win and You’re In race was the Indian Summer, a 5½-furlong race on the turf for 2-year-olds worth $200,000 that secured for the winner a berth in the inaugural Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint on Nov. 2.
Keeneland’s 10th Breeders’ Cup Challenge race, on Wednesday, Oct. 10, was the $200,000 JPMorgan Chase Jessamine (G2), whose purse was increased $50,000 with the upgrade from a Grade 3 event in 2017. The JPMorgan Chase Jessamine awarded the winner a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1).
The Fall Meet’s sixth Grade 1 stakes, on Oct. 13, was the internationally prestigious $500,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Presented by Lane’s End. The invitational is for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/8 miles on the turf.
Find more information about racing at Keeneland at the website: Keeneland.com and on social media.
