Keeneland's Blue Grass Stakes is the track's signature prep for the Kentucky Derby. The race, named for the Bluegrass region of Kentucky which is characterized by grass with bluish-green culms, is held annually in mid-April over 1 1/8 miles. The 2015 running marked the race's return to a dirt surface after the track replaced its synthetic Polytrack in the summer of 2014.
Keeneland's Blue Grass Stakes is the track's signature prep for the Kentucky Derby. The race, named for the Bluegrass region of Kentucky which is characterized by grass with bluish-green culms, is held annually in mid-April over 1 1/8 miles. The 2015 running marked the race's return to a dirt surface after the track replaced its synthetic Polytrack in the summer of 2014.
The Blue Grass at Keeneland has produced 19 winners of the Kentucky Derby, nine of which won the Blue Grass before tasting victory on the first Saturday in May. The most recent Blue Grass runner to win the Kentucky Derby was Street Sense in 2007. Other winners of the race include the Alydar, Holy Bull, Skip Away and Harlan’s Holiday.
Owner Calumet Farm and jockey Bill Shoemaker each have six wins in the race.