Down through the years, Keeneland located in Versailles, Kentucky, has offered up many wonderful things in the Thoroughbred racing world. One of those has absolutely been the return on investment for horse players.
The magnificence that is the Keeneland Spring Meet is usually short but very sweet. This year, fifteen racing dates will take place between April 3 and April 24. Overall, nineteen Stakes races with purse money totaling $9.55 million will be run during these four weeks.
Question is, how do those Spring Meet facts translate into payouts for the speculating public? Keeneland is both a gentlemen’s track and a breeding shed facility. Winning races at this venue builds value into breeding stock and horsemen know that. That makes Keeneland THE place to be this time of year.
“The crowds are always fantastic and Keeneland is such a beautiful venue”, says Doug O’Neill, one of the top trainers on the West coast who has shipped horses to Keeneland in the past including Irap who won the 2017 Bluegrass Stakes at odds of 31 to 1. “The purse money is always strong and the level of competition means the races are stallion and broodmare makers.”
Because horsemen from all over like to run at Keeneland the field sizes are large and the competition is fierce. Those factors add up to upsets and larger payouts for horse players. This is something that has been happening for quite some time as this oval located in the heart of horse country has long rewarded those who guess right.
A quick perusal of some historical statistics backs up our theory quite well. Rockamundo returned a whopping $395.20 on a $2 win wager on April 17, 1993. The highest $2 daily double returned $5,796.40 back on April 19, 1961. If you happened to have the $2 exacta in the 4th race on October 27, 1993, you cashed for $5200.40. The $2 trifecta in the 8thrace on April 22, 2009 paid $55,381.80. A 10-cent superfecta on the 7th race October 20 of 2022 yielded $72,863.72. The all-time highest $2 pick 3 ($49,628.60), 50-cent pick 4 ($78,634.80), all-turf pick 3 ($56,493.41), 50-cent pick 5 ($266,340), and $2 pick 6 ($317,439.80) are also astronomically fantastic.
One of the fabulous features of playing the ponies is the low risk-high yield potential. Granted, these “rob the bank” type scenarios do not occur in every race. The previously provided statistics do tell us two things. These grand larceny events can occur at Keeneland. But more importantly, history tells us they DO happen at Keeneland.
Opening day is Friday, April 3 with first post at 1 pm eastern. The card will feature ten races including four Stakes events highlighted by the $750,000 Central Bank Ashland Stakes for three-year-old fillies. The Saturday card on April 4 boasts five Stakes runs on a ten-race card with the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes for three-year-old colts as the marquee event. All this means there will be plenty of opportunities on opening weekend to back a horse and get paid.
