Keeneland Race Course Picks – Saturday, October 10, 2020

Keeneland Race Course brings us a ten-race schedule of maiden, allowance, and claiming matches that also features two graded stakes races—The Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes (Grade I) and the Hagyard Fayette Stakes (Grade II).

Remember that while I cover today’s richest races at Keeneland, you can always find their full slate of races at one of our recommended online racebooks.

Read on for my Keeneland Race Course picks and tips for Saturday.

This is an allowance race for three-year-olds and upward running a distance of six furlongs for a purse of $71,000.

I’m backing the 1/1 morning line favorite for the win—Nashville, with Ricardo Santana, Jr. in the irons. This three-year-old colt won his single career start, breaking his maiden at Saratoga in early September. He’ll see plenty of competition from the 8/1 Spin Rate, ridden by Joe Talamo. Spin Rate’s single-start record is virtually identical to the favorite’s except his maiden race (at Fair Ground) was back in February and he hasn’t raced since then.

The entry with the longest odds that has a shot at a finish in the money is the 10/1 Sounion, ridden by Javier Castellano. This three-year-old colt moneyed four of his five career starts, winning one. Show bet only.

This is the Hagyard Fayette Stakes (Grade II), a race for three-year-olds and upward running a distance of 1-1/8 miles for a purse of $200,000.

I have to stick with the morning line in this race as well; my money’s on the 3/1 favorite, Mr. Freeze, with Javier Castellano aboard. This five-year-old moneyed 11 of his 15 career starts, winning five.

For a bargain show ticket, I like the 15/1 Mirinaque, ridden by Gerardo Corrales. This four-year-old recent arrival from Argentina moneyed eight of his ten career starts.

This is the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes Presented by Dixiana (Grade I), an invitational race for three-year-old fillies running 1-1/8 miles on turf for a purse of $500,000.

I’m going with the third-favored (7/2) entry here—Sweet Melania, with top jockey Flavien Prat in the irons. This filly moneyed all of her eight career starts and won three of them.

At 30/1, I can’t resist a show wager on Lucky Betty, with Declan Cannon aboard. This filly finished in the money for five of her seven career starts, winning three of them. Cannon rode Lucky Betty to her most recent money finish, third place in the Grade II Edgewood Stakes at Churchill Downs in September.

Keeneland Race Course had some great moneymakers for us today, but I found more at the other two tracks I reviewed: