There’s a reason why #3 Tommy Jo (2-5) is an overwhelming favorite to win Friday’s $650,000 Darley Alcibiades Stakes on opening day of the Keeneland fall meet: she’s the fastest filly in the field.
The richest race of Keeneland’s fall meet came up very strong this year. A full 12-horse field is lined up in Saturday’s Grade 1 Coolmore Turf Mile Stakes with a berth in the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile Presented by PDJF on the line. Three entrants ship over from Europe, which makes the competition tougher and handicapping challenge even more difficult.
The $500,000 Champagne Stakes is one of New York’s most prestigious races for 2-year-olds and has been for over a century. The one-turn mile race will be held again this year at Aqueduct, substituting for under-construction Belmont Park, as part of the Belmont at the Big A meet.
While it’s never too early to start Kentucky Derby dreaming, there are multiple major prizes in the 2-year-old male division this weekend with Grade 1 stakes on the slate in New York, Kentucky, and Southern California that will be key tests that go a long way toward determining the Eclipse Award.
Each week a panel of media members, horseplayers, and Breeders’ Cup World Championships officials release a poll tabulating their votes on the nation's top contenders for the 2025 Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic. The rankings are a weekly rating of the top 10 horses in contention and are determined by each voter ranking their top 10 horses with points assigned on a descending 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
