This week in horse racing: Keeneland opens Friday in advance of next month's Breeders' Cup

Horse Racing

This week in horse racing: Keeneland opens Friday in advance of next month’s Breeders’ Cup

VSiN Staff

October 6, 2022

Opening weekend of the prestigious meeting at Keeneland runs Friday through Sunday, including 11 key stakes preps that will be showcased at this year’s Breeders’ Cup host site.
Stars like Golden Pal, Letruska and Malathaat are just some of the names expected to grace the Lexington oval. But Keeneland won’t fly solo on the national marquee, which also includes six major stakes at Santa Anita and another half-dozen at the Belmont-at-Aqueduct stand. This will be last call, for all intents and purposes, before the Nov. 4-5 Breeders’ Cup World Championships.
For those betting Keeneland this weekend, here are the key Betmix.com local Fall Meet stakes stats over the past 5 years.

Keeneland Statistics
Percentage of Winning Favorites: 35.6%
Average Win Odds: 7.6-1
Hot Trainers: Brad Cox (11-45, 24%), Rusty Arnold (5-19, 26%), Mark Casse (7-47, 15%), Chad Brown (9-68, 13%).
Hot Jockeys: Joe Bravo (5-18, 28%), Joel Rosario (9-29, 23%), Luis Saez (8-42, 19%), John Velazquez (6-34, 18%), Florent Geroux (11-75, 15%)

What To Watch For This Week

Charles Town presents 9 stakes races on Saturday night for its annual West Virginia Breeders’ Classics card … The Northern California racing circuit shifts Friday from Golden Gate Fields to the Big Fresno Fair, which runs through Oct. 16 … Kentucky Derby-winning jockey Sonny Leon begins a 15-day suspension for reckless riding after his controversial ride in Churchill’s Lukas Classic aboard Rich Strike this past weekend … The world’s top-ranked racehorse, Flightline, is on a Saturday pattern of workouts as he prepares at Santa Anita for the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Catch those morning moves at XBTV.com or on Twitter @WatchXBTV.

Friday Weekend Firestarter

Trainer Mark Glatt’s runners got off to a strong start with 2 wins and 3 runners-up from 9 starters opening weekend at Santa Anita. Look for them to continue to impress as Week 2 opens Friday. They were particularly strong in sprint races. He has #2 All Eyes West in Race 2, #2 Flame Magoon in Race 3 and #4 Leyas Candy in Race 8 all sprinting with strong chances.

1/ST BET APP TOP HANDICAPPING TRACK OF WEEK

The free 1/ST BET app allows you to apply millions of data points across dozens of handicapping factors in mere seconds and immediately place your wagers. Here’s where the artificial intelligence was most dialed-in last week by win percentage:

46% Finger Lakes
44% Louisiana Downs
38% Belterra Park
36% Assiniboia Downs
36% Churchill Downs

Tracks With Most Reliable Favorites Last Week (By Win %)
58% Finger Lakes
57% Hastings Park
57% Delaware Park
50% Hawthorne
47% Mountaineer

Tracks That Were Longshot Havens Last Week (Most Winners 10-1 or More)
9 Woodbine
6 Belmont at Aqueduct
6 Churchill
6 Laurel Park
6 Mountaineer

America’s Hot Jockeys Last Week
Marcelino Pedroza (7-19, 37%) // Indianapolis
Jamie Rodriguez (10-31, 32%) // Delaware Park, Laurel
Walter De La Cruz (7-22, 32%) // Prairie Meadows
John McKee (7-23, 30%) // Belterra, Churchill Downs
Brian Hernandez Jr. (7-23, 30%) // Churchill Downs

America’s Hot Trainers Last Week
Damon Dilodovico (5-5, 100%) // Laurel Park
Michael Ferraro (5-7, 71%) // Finger Lakes
Shelly Radosevich (4-7, 57%) // Presque Isle Downs
Chris Hartman (4-8, 50%) // Churchill Downs
Isidro Tamayo (4-9, 44%) // Golden Gate Fields
Bob Baffert (4-9, 44%) // Santa Anita

Cash for Keeneland

Horseplayers who bet on 1/ST BET and Xpressbet in September can take advantage of a whopping $30,000 in Hit & Split promotion on Keeneland’s opening weekend Friday, Saturday and Sunday cards. The splits range between $2,500 and $10,000 on various pick fours and pick fives each day. Cash not only your pari-mutuel winnings, but also collect your share of the Hit & Split promotional dollars with only those who also won on the 1/ST BET and Xpressbet platforms.

– Statistics courtesy Betmix