Keeneland’s annual Fall Meet got underway Friday afternoon, accompanied by picturesque weather conditions.
Under sunny skies and temperatures that rose into the low 80s, horse racing returned to Central Kentucky for the first day of the 17-day Fall Meet . Keeneland’s dirt track was fast and the turf course was firm for opening day.
Friday’s card featured 10 races, including three stakes races that served as win-and-in qualifiers for corresponding races in next month’s Breeders’ Cup, to be held at Del Mar in California.
The opening weekend of Keeneland’s Fall Meet, as usual, is billed as Fall Stars Weekend. From Friday through Sunday, Fall Stars Weekend will offer $5.8 million in purses across 11 stakes races at Keeneland, 10 of which are graded stakes.
In addition to the three stakes races run Friday, there will be five more stakes races Saturday and three more stakes races Sunday.
Immersive wins Darley Alcibiades, earns Kentucky Oaks points
Immersive proved to be the class of the field in Friday’s marquee race, the Grade 1, $600,000 Darley Alcibiades.