Rosario holds the record for most wins at a spring meet (38 in 2013). Gaffalione edged Ortiz by a 19-18 count here last spring, and Saez won 21-20 over Gaffalione last fall. Between them, Saez and Gaffalione have accounted for every Keeneland riding title since 2020.
#IRAD ORTIZ NEWS FULL#
The 30-year-old Puerto Rico native has ridden here on a periodic basis in recent years, but this spring, “we have no plans of missing any days,” Rushing said.Ī number of other top jockeys also intend to ride the full meet and on through Derby week, including Flavien Prat, Joel Rosario, Luis Saez, and Tyler Gaffalione. Ortiz, a four-time Eclipse Award winner, led the Championship-meet standings at Gulfstream with 128 wins and $7.5 million in mount earnings. His daily presence surely makes Ortiz the favorite to win his first-ever riding title on the Kentucky circuit. Irad Ortiz Jr., fresh from a sensational winter at Gulfstream Park, is expected to ride every day of the Keeneland meet and through the Derby at Churchill Downs, according to agent Steve Rushing. The Grade 3 Transylvania and the Lafayette also will be run Friday.Ĭloudy skies and a high of 59 are in the Friday forecast, with Saturday bringing more sunshine and mid-60s highs. Wonder Wheel, the reigning 2-year-old filly champion, heads a prospective field that also includes Julia Shining, Guns n’ Graces, and Pride of the Nile. The Friday opener is anchored by the Grade 1 Ashland Stakes, a key prep for the Kentucky Oaks on May 5. The Blue Grass will be accompanied on the biggest day of the meet by the Grade 1 Madison, Grade 2 Appalachian, Grade 2 Shakertown, and Grade 3 Commonwealth. Other probables are Classic Car Wash, Hayes Strike, Major Blue, Mendelssohns March, Raise Cain, Sun Thunder, and Verifying. Keeneland racing officials are expecting at least nine 3-year-olds for the $1 million Blue Grass, led by Tapit Trice, one of a handful of Pletcher hopefuls for the May 6 Kentucky Derby, and Blazing Sevens, the Champagne winner trained by Brown. Three opening-day stakes will be followed by five more Saturday, highlighted by the annual spring showcase, the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes.Įntries for Friday were to be drawn Tuesday, and Saturday entries on Wednesday. The front-loaded stakes schedule has a couple of tweaks from the status quo, being that the first Sunday of the meet will be dark because of the Easter holiday. “This was always my favorite time of the year before I worked here – and it’s even more so now.” “It’s going to be an awesome meet top to bottom,” said Gatewood Bell, the lifelong horseman who became the Keeneland vice president of racing in February 2021. They’ll be taking part in a familiar spring ritual being renewed over the next three weeks at a 15-day spring meet that starts Friday.
Much of Chad Brown’s 40-horse contingent had just arrived here hours earlier as workers busied themselves on a quiet Monday morning, and most of Todd Pletcher’s 40-strong string was scheduled to arrive sometime later in the day. Clockers are getting busier by the day as the stable area starts to refill. Trees are blooming instead of leaves falling. Get more North American racing coverage from Daily Racing Fo rmĪll the temporary stands that dominated the Keeneland landscape last fall for the Breeders’ Cup are long gone.
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