Lady Sabelia, Stopchargingmaria Lead Madison

Nearly 10 years ago, trainer Robin Graham saddled her first and only Keeneland starter, an allowance winner, and she has returned from her base in Maryland shooting for a bigger prize: Saturday’s $350,000 Madison (G1) with Mrs. Frank Wright’s Lady Sabelia.

“That was a long time ago,” Graham said with a laugh of the race here on Oct. 28, 2005. “It was a filly named Black Java and she won a non-winners of two allowance on the grass. She had just been beaten a nose at Delaware Park four weeks before and the owner (George Pruette) lived here.”

Since last May, Lady Sabelia has emerged as one of the top female sprinters in the Mid-Atlantic region, winning six of her past seven races and her last four, topped by a score in the Barbara Fritchie (G2) in her most recent start.

“She stepped up to win a Grade 2 and now we will see if she can step up again and get a Grade 1,” said Graham, who began training on her own in 1994. “We were looking at some races around Preakness (G1) Week, but that’s a couple of months off, so we thought we would come here and see what she could do and then maybe come back in the fall (for the Breeders’ Cup World Championships).”

Lady Sabelia, who arrived here Wednesday, needed four tries to break her maiden, which came with Horacio Karamanos aboard for the first time. The result was a 12 ¾-length blowout. Karamanos has been aboard since.

“He rides a lot of horses for me and knows what I like to do with them,” Graham said. “Take a long hold and get them to relax.”

Town and Country Farms’ Stopchargingmaria launches her 4-year-old campaign Saturday in the $350,000 Madison (G1). With John Velazquez aboard for trainer Todd Pletcher, Stopchargingmaria is the 5-2 morning-line favorite for the race, which will be her first since she was second in the Beldame Invitational (G1) on Sept. 27. The Madison will be her first race at seven furlongs since a runner-up finish in the Spinaway (G1) in her second career start in 2013.

“She has trained well in Florida,” assistant trainer Dermott Magnier said. “This is a nice race to start her off. It should suit her.”

On Thursday, Stopcharingmaria had an easy gallop just before the renovation break.

OPENING WEEKEND SPECIAL EVENTS

Friday, April 3: Opening Day
The Keeneland Gift Shop Presents: Christine A. Moore trunk show from 9 a.m.-6 p.m.

The Keeneland Gift Shop Presents: Sail to Sable trunk show from 9 a.m.-6 p.m.

College Scholarship Day on Opening Day of the Spring Meet welcomes thousands of students from colleges and universities in Kentucky and beyond. Admission is free with a college ID. Full-time students can register in the North Terrace to win one of ten $1,000 scholarships and prizes from local vendors after each of the day’s races.

The program, sponsored by the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, began in October 2002 at tracks across the commonwealth and often draws 4,000-6,000 students to Keeneland. The total scholarship aid distributed at Kentucky tracks is more than $500,000 over the life of the program.

Registration begins at 11 a.m. ET; Post time for the first race is 1:05 p.m.

Keeneland College Zone; North Terrace (Grandstand North Entrance)

GIVEAWAY SCHEDULE:

Race 1 (1:05 p.m.)         $1,000 scholarship; Monkee’s of Lexington gift card.
Race 2 (1:36 p.m.)         $1,000 scholarship; Pazzo’s $300 gift card, Logan’s of Lexington prize package.
Race 3 (2:07 p.m.)         $1,000 scholarship; Bluegrass Belts package, The Wyatt iPad Air.
Race 4 (2:38 p.m.)         $1,000 scholarship; BlueTique $300 gift card, City Barbeque $300 gift card.
Race 5 (3:09 p.m.)         $1,000 scholarship; Orange Leaf Fro-Yo for a semester.
Race 6 (3:40 p.m.)         $1,000 scholarship; Vineyard Vines prize package.
Race 7 (4:11 p.m.)         $1,000 scholarship; Costa prize package.
Race 8 (4:42 p.m.)         $1,000 scholarship; Campus Quilts T-shirt quilt kit, American Campus Communities $500 gift card.
Race 9 (5:13 p.m.)         $1,000 scholarship; Raising Cane’s prize basket.
Race 10 (5:44 p.m.)       $1,000 scholarship; Sleep Outfitters pillow set, Pandora jewelry set.

Craft Beer Tent. Find a special selection of beers, including Blue Stallion, Country Boy, Fat Tire, Kentucky Ale, Land Shark, Shock Top, Sierra Nevada, Sweetwater and Woodchuck Hard Cider. Note: On April 3, the Craft Beer tent will be located in the Paddock area. It will return to the North Terrace patio on April 4.

$200,000-Guaranteed Pick Four Presented by TVG. Pick the winners of the day’s final four races.

Saturday, April 4
Bluegrass Double. Keeneland encourages fans to wear blue to the track to show their support for the University of Kentucky men’s basketball team, which has advanced to the Final Four. Post time for the first of 11 races at Keeneland is 12:35 p.m. ET. The card includes the $500,000 Central Bank Ashland (G1) with a post time of 5:20 p.m., followed by the $1 million Toyota Blue Grass (G1) at 6 p.m. UK’s game vs. Wisconsin is scheduled to start at approximately 8:49 p.m.

Sunrise Trackside. Want to experience the sights and sounds of Keeneland many don’t get to see? Sunrise Trackside, sponsored by LEX18 and Dunkin’ Donuts, offers activities for all ages beginning at 7 a.m. Fans can enjoy Breakfast With the Works, a Southern-style breakfast and trackside commentary while horses train on the main track (until 8:30 a.m.); children’s activities in the Kids Club Corner (7-9 a.m.); guided walking tours of Keeneland (8-10:30 a.m.); demonstration in the Paddock from the Maker’s Mark Secretariat Center (9 a.m.); trackside handicapping seminar (11 a.m.); and a Q&A session with jockey Joe Bravo in the Paddock (11:35 a.m.). Keeneland Bugler Steve Buttleman will be on hand to take photos with fans.

The Keeneland Gift Shop Presents: Christine A. Moore trunk show from 9 a.m.-6 p.m.

Craft Beer Tent. Located on the North Terrace patio, the popular Craft Beer Tent offers a special selection, including Blue Stallion, Country Boy, Fat Tire, Kentucky Ale, Land Shark, Shock Top, Sierra Nevada, Sweetwater and Woodchuck Hard Cider.

Guaranteed $300,000 All-Stakes Pick Four: Pick the winners of the Commonwealth (G3), Shakertown (G3), Central Bank Ashland (G1) and Toyota Blue Grass (G1).

Guaranteed $300,000 All-Stakes Pick Five: Pick the winners of the Madison (G1), Commonwealth (G3), Shakertown (G3), Central Bank Ashland (G1) and Toyota Blue Grass (G1).

Sunday, April 5: Easter Sunday – Keeneland closed

Source: Keeneland Barn Notes