KEENELAND NOTEBOOK
APRIL 2, 2010
Meet Preview
by Frank Cotolo
Keeneland’s 2010 spring meeting opens Friday and continues through April 23,
with no racing on Monday or Tuesday or April 4, Easter Sunday. The 15 programs
offer a bevy of opportunities on a full menu of wagers.
If you enjoy watching and wagering on world-class Thoroughbred racing,
Keeneland will offer plenty of action during its 15-day spring racing season.
The track will offer a 50-cent Pick 3, as well as a 50-cent Pick 4 and a
50-cent trifecta wager. And there is also the nationwide-popular 10-cent
superfecta.
Also, there is the Super High Five (SHF). You can play the SHF on the final
Keeneland race every live racing day. The SHF requires selecting the first five
finishers in exact order. If there are no winners on a particular race, the SHF
pool carries to the next race card. The SHF is $1.
On April 9, handicappers face the challenge of the Maker’s Mark Mile
(G1)/Blue Grass (G1) double. To hit it, players need to pick the winners of
these Grade 1 races on consecutive days. The double tests handicapping skills on
the turf and the Polytrack ovals. The $300,000 Maker’s Mark Mile is one mile on
the green, with older horses battling; the $750,000 Blue Grass is 1 1/8 miles
for sophomores, a major Kentucky Derby (G1) prep.
On April 10, Keeneland also will conduct a $300,000-guaranteed All-Stakes
Pick 4 covering the Blue Grass, Commonwealth (G2), Jenny Wiley (G2) and
Shakertown (G3).
Trainers
Keeneland’s 1 1/16-mile Polytrack and turf course will again feature large
fields, with top conditioners sending out competitive and fit stock.
Last season, the October 2009 meet, the top five trainers by win percentage,
using Polytrack and turf racing, are listed below.
| Trainer | Win Pct. | Starts | ||
| Ken McPeek | 26 | 66 | ||
| Hugh Robertson | 23 | 22 | ||
| Michael Maker | 19 | 26 | ||
| Todd Pletcher | 19 | 32 | ||
| Eddie Kenneally | 14 | 29 |
McPeek did well with maidens and first-time starters. He also had the best
win percentage solely with turf starters. He had 58 starts on the green and a
25-percent win rate. Robertson did better on the turf, with 20 starts and a
50-percent figure.
Stakes
It is a stakes-filled meet, with top events worth a total of more than $3
million sprinkled through a few weeks. It begins on Friday’s opening day card
with the $100,000 Transylvania S. (G3) for sophomores. The following day, the
Ashland S. (G1) tests sophomore fillies for $400,000. Both are routes at 1 1/16
miles.
The following week, on April 7, sophomore fillies meet again in the Beaumont
S. (G2) at about seven panels for $150,000. And the next day four-year-old-
and-up femmes go seven furlongs in the Madison S. (G1) for $300,000.
Horses for the Course
Here are some horses that won on Polytrack at Keeneland during the most
recent meet.
FIRST MOVEMENT (Concerto)
SLUMPBUSTER (Friends Lake)
LOST CAMPER (Forest Camp)
YANKEE PLAYER (Yankee Gentleman)
TIGER’S ROCK (Giant’s Causeway)
POSITIVE SPLIT (Repent)
DUBIOUS MISS (E Dubai)
GRAND TRAVERSE (Pioneering)
MY BABY BABY (Bernstein)
BLAME (Arch)
INNOVATIVE (Johannesburg)