Keeneland Summer Meet — Wednesday, July 1

By Amy Owens —-

KEENELAND SUMMER MEET RUNS JULY 8-12

KEENELAND SUMMER MEET RUNS JULY 8-12

Keeneland’s unprecedented five-day Summer Meet opens Wednesday, July 8 and runs through Sunday, July 12. The Summer Meet, which accommodates a portion of the 16-day Spring Meet that Keeneland was forced to cancel due to the COVID-19 outbreak, will be held without fans.

Visit Keeneland at Home Presented by Central Bank for more information about the Summer Meet and learn about a variety of creative and fun ways for fans to remotely enjoy the season.

Here are other additional details about the meet:

· Entries for the nine-race card on opening day will be taken Sunday, July 5.

· First post each day is 1:05 p.m. ET.

· Complimentary race-day programs can be downloaded at Keeneland.com.

· All races are streamed live and at no charge on Keeneland.com, Facebook Live and YouTube.

· Race-day programming will begin at 11:30 a.m. with “Today at Keeneland,” a 30-minute preview show with handicapping picks and discussion of horses of interest. Racing analysts Gabby Gaudet and Scott Hazelton host the program, which airs live on TVG2, The CW Lexington and WKYT.com and is streamed live on Keeneland.com, KeenelandSelect.com and Facebook Live. Fans also will have the opportunity to tune in to a live Winner’s Circle Camera Presented by Coolmore.

· TVG will present live, on-site coverage of the Summer Meet beginning at 1 p.m. on race days.

· Fans may wager on the Summer Meet by signing up for an account with Keeneland Select, which is offering a special bonus for new sign-ups: wager $100 on the Summer Meet and receive $50 back. This is on top of Keeneland Select’s lucrative sign-up bonus, which will earn a player $100 after he or she wagers $300 within the first 30 days.

· Drive-thru wagering will be available at Red Mile on race days from 8 a.m. until the final Keeneland post.

McPEEK DISCUSSES TOYOTA BLUE GRASS-CENTRAL BANK ASHLAND NOMINEE SWISS SKYDIVER

Click here for a Zoom interview with trainer Kenny McPeek by Keeneland racing analyst Tom Leach about Peter Callahan’s Swiss Skydiver, who is nominated to both the Toyota Blue Grass (G2) and Central Bank Ashland (G1) on July 11. The 3-year-old filly by Daredevil is on a three-race win streak: Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2), Fantasy (G3) at Oaklawn and Santa Anita Oaks (G2)

McPeek also talks about Central Bank Ashland nominee Envoutante, who he trains for Walking L Thoroughbreds and Three Chimneys Farm. The Uncle Mo filly won a May 29 allowance at Churchill Downs in her most recent race.

The interview was conducted Tuesday, June 30.

FIELDS TAKE SHAPE FOR SUMMER MEET STAKES

Ten graded stakes worth $2,575,000 headline Keeneland’s Summer Meet schedule: four Grade 1 stakes, four Grade 2 races and two Grade 3 events.

Click here for the list of nominees to the stakes and their past performances.

According to Stakes Coordinator Tiffany Bourque, here are potential fields for each race:

Friday, July 10 stakes. Entries taken Tuesday, July 7.

$300,000 Maker’s Mark Mile (G1) – Emmaus (IRE) (trained by Conor Murphy), Everfast (Jack Sisterson), Halladay (Todd Pletcher), Raging Bull (FR) (Chad Brown), War of Will (Mark Casse), Without Parole (GB) (Brown). Possible: Diamond Oops (Patrick Biancone), English Bee (Graham Motion), Next Shares (Richard Baltas), Set Piece (GB) (Brad Cox).

$100,000 Beaumont (G3) Presented by Keeneland Select – Finding Fame (Shug McGaughey), Four Graces (Ian Wilkes), Sconsin (Greg Foley). Possible: Rising Seas (Ben Colebrook), Speech (Michael McCarthy).

Saturday, July 11 stakes. Entries taken Wednesday, July 8.

$600,000 Toyota Blue Grass (G2) – Art Collector (Tom Drury Jr.), Attachment Rate (Dale Romans), Enforceable (Mark Casse), Mr. Big News (Bret Calhoun), Shivaree (Ralph Nicks), Winning Impression (Dallas Stewart). Possible: Basin (Steve Asmussen), Finnick the Fierce (Rey Hernandez), Hard Lighting (Alexis Delgado), Man in the Can (Ron Moquett), Necker Island (Chris Hartman), Rushie (Michael McCarthy), Swiss Skydiver (Kenny McPeek).

$400,000 Central Bank Ashland (G1) – Envoutante (Kenny McPeek), Swiss Skydiver (McPeek), Tonalist’s Shape (Saffie Joseph Jr.), Venetian Harbor (Richard Baltas). Possible: Alandra (Shug McGaughey), Bayerness (Cherie DeVaux), Bonny South (Brad Cox), Lucky Betty (Will VanMeter), Speech (Michael McCarthy), Tempers Rising (Dallas Stewart).

$350,000 Coolmore Jenny Wiley (G1) – Altea (FR) (Chad Brown), Jolie Olimpica (BRZ) (Richard Mandella), La Signare (FR) (Brendan Walsh), Mucho Unusual (Tim Yakteen), Rushing Fall (Brown), Secret Message (Graham Motion), Toinette (Neil Drysdale). Possible: Juliet Foxtrot (GB) (Brad Cox), Starship Jubilee (Kevin Attard).

$250,000 Madison (G1) – Amy’s Challenge (McLean Robertson), Bell’s the One (Neil Pessin), Guarana (Chad Brown), Mia Mischief (Steve Asmussen), Princess Causeway (Ian Wilkes), Sally’s Curlin (Dale Romans). Possible: Diamond Crazy (Dallas Stewart), Jean Elizabeth (Larry Rivelli).

$150,000 Shakertown (G2) – Bound for Nowhere (Wesley Ward), Extravagant Kid (Brendan Walsh), Fast Boat (Joe Sharp), High Crime (Darrin Miller), Just Might (Michelle Lovell), Leinster (Rusty Arnold), Real News (Al Stall Jr.), Shekky Shebaz (Christophe Clement), Tell Your Daddy (Neil Pessin), Texas Wedge (Peter Miller), Tiger Blood (Mike Maker), Totally Boss (Arnold), Wildman Jack (Doug O’Neill). Possible: Star of Kodiak (Chris Davis).

$150,000 Appalachian (G2) Presented by Japan Racing Association – Alms (Mike Stidham), Enola Gay (Shug McGaughey), Ivyetsu (Rusty Arnold), Mariafoot (FR) (Cherie DeVaux), Outburst (GB) (Eddie Kenneally), Walk In Marrakesh (IRE) (Ignacio Correas IV). Possible: Cat’s Pajamas (Graham Motion), Lucky Betty (Will VanMeter), Stela Star (IRE) (John Sadler).

Note: Wagering on July 11 will feature a $500,000 Guaranteed All-Stakes Pick Five and $500,000 Guaranteed All-Stakes Pick Four.

Sunday, July 12 stakes. Entries taken Thursday, July 9.

$175,000 TVG Elkhorn (G2) – He’s No Lemon (Graham Motion), Jais’s Solitude (Eddie Kenneally), Oscar Dominguez (IRE) (Richard Baltas), Spooky Channel (Brian Lynch), Zulu Alpha (Mike Maker). Possible: Arklow (Brad Cox), Hellorhighwater (Darrin Miller), Hierarchy (Joe Sharp), Nakamura (Motion), United (Richard Mandella).

$100,000 Kentucky Utilities Transylvania (G3) – Spanish Kingdom (Joe Sharp), Vintage Print (Chad Brown). Possible: Bama Breeze (Rusty Arnold), Buy Me Candy (Ignacio Correas IV), Bye Bye Melvin (Graham Motion), Mo Hawk (Rodolphe Brisset), Smooth Like Strait (Michael McCarthy).

Note: NBCSN will provide live coverage of the TVG Elkhorn from 5-7 p.m.