Keeneland's opening weekend is loaded with graded stakes

Keeneland's fall meet opens Friday with an expanded stakes schedule and a meet record $6 million in stakes purses. The 17-day meet runs through Oct. 30.

In the opening days, which Keeneland bills as the "Fall Stars Weekend," the Lexington, Ky., track will host 10 graded stakes, starting with the Alcibiades (G1) and the Phoenix (G2) on Friday. Nine of those stakes are Breeders' Cup qualifiers, including the two on Friday. In all, the meet will have 22 graded stakes.

For the final weekend of the meet, the track has introduced two new $150,000 juvenile stakes, the Myrtlewood and Bowman Mill; revived the Perryville and Bryan Station, both fixtures for 3-year-olds; and scheduled the Valley View (G3) and Hagyard Fayette (G2) to create multiple stakes cards.

Brad Cox was the leading trainer in last year's fall meet, with 15 wins. Mike Maker was second, with 12.

Cox has four entries on Friday, including the promising Matareya and Juju's Map in the Albiacides, and four on Saturday. Maker has five entries on Friday, including Endorsed and Special Reserve in the Phoenix, and six on Saturday.

Last year's jockey title went to Tyler Gaffalione, who had 24 wins. Florent Geroux was next, with 16. Gaffalione has eight mounts on both Friday and Saturday, including one also-eligible, and Geroux has five on Friday and six on Saturday.

The track will offer a new wager, the Keeneland Turf Pick 3, on the final three turf races each race day of the season. The minimum wager is $3, and the wager will follow the same rules as the traditional Pick 3.Here is the wagering menu for the meet:

• $1 exactas (all races)

• 50-cent Trifecta (races with at least five betting interests)

• 10-cent Superfecta (races with at least six betting interests)

• 50-cent Pick Three (the day's first Pick Three begins on the first race and continues through the day; the final Pick Three encompasses the final three races)

• $1 Rolling Doubles continuing throughout the card

• 50-cent Pick Four (the first one begins on the day's second race; the second and final one covers the day's final four races)

• $1 Super High Five (at least seven betting interests). Offered on last race of the day with 7 betting interests.

• 50-cent Pick Five on first five races and last five races

• $1 Pick Six on the last six races of the day

• $1 win, place, show

• $3 Turf Pick Three – on last three turf races of the day

All other wagers, unless noted, have a $2 minimum.