Keeneland Opening Day 2026: Alcibiades, Jessamine and Phoenix Betting Preview
Keeneland is back on Friday, October 2, and this fall meet is a big one. It's the track's 90th year, it runs 17 days through October 24, and four weeks from now the same Lexington dirt and turf host the Breeders' Cup on October 30 and 31.
Opening day wastes no time. Three graded stakes worth $1.45 million close out the card, and all three are Breeders' Cup Win and You're In races. Win the Alcibiades, the Jessamine or the Phoenix and you're in the gate at Keeneland at the end of the month, fees paid. First post is 1pm ET, and the stakes go as Races 7, 8 and 9.
| Race | Post Time (ET) | Stakes | Grade | Purse | Distance and Surface | Breeders' Cup Berth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 4:12pm | Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix | G2 | $400,000 | 6 furlongs, dirt | Sprint |
| 8 | 4:44pm | Jessamine | G2 | $400,000 | 1 1/16 miles, turf | Juvenile Fillies Turf |
| 9 | 5:16pm | Darley Alcibiades | G1 | $650,000 | 1 1/16 miles, dirt | Juvenile Fillies |
Why Win and You're In Races Are Worth Betting
These are the races where connections stop saving something for later. A win is worth the purse and a paid spot in a Breeders' Cup race on home ground, so trainers bring horses that are ready to run now.
It also means you're betting some of the horses you'll see again on October 30 and 31. Get a read on them now and you'll have a head start when the Breeders' Cup fields come together.
Darley Alcibiades (Grade 1)
Race 9, 5:16pm ET. $650,000, 1 1/16 miles on the dirt, two year old fillies. The winner earns a place in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. Eight go to post in the 75th running.
Summer Starlet is the headliner and she's unbeaten in two. The City of Light filly won her Saratoga debut by 6½ lengths at 15/1 on August 8, then took the Grade 1 Spinaway on September 5 by 4¾ lengths as the 8/5 favorite. That Spinaway win already secured her Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies spot, so for Steve Asmussen this is about getting a two turn race into her before the big day. She cost $335,000 at the Keeneland September sale and is the third Grade 1 winner for City of Light. Ricardo Santana Jr. rode her in the Spinaway, so Flavien Prat is a new rider here.
She isn't the only unbeaten filly, though. Brendan Walsh's Emphatic is two for two and hasn't let a rival get within five lengths. She won her debut at Colonial Downs by 6¾ lengths on July 25, then took the Sorority at Monmouth by 5¼ lengths on August 29. The rest are stepping up from a maiden or allowance win. Walsh also runs Ever Forward, and Chad Brown sends Forever Carina, a Gun Runner filly who broke her maiden at Saratoga, with Jose Ortiz aboard.
There's more than a Breeders' Cup spot on offer, too. The Alcibiades awards Kentucky Oaks points on a 10, 5, 3, 2, 1 scale to the first five home.
Our take: Summer Starlet is the only Grade 1 winner in the field and the one to beat, but Emphatic is a real danger. We'd box the pair in the exacta and use Forever Carina underneath in the trifecta.
| Post | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Last Start | Morning Line |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emphatic | Tyler Gaffalione | Brendan Walsh | Won the Sorority | TBC |
| 2 | For the Money | Rafael Bejarano | Rohan Crichton | Maiden win, Colonial Downs | TBC |
| 3 | Ever Forward | Brian Hernandez Jr. | Brendan Walsh | Maiden win | TBC |
| 4 | Oh She Said Yes | Jareth Loveberry | Kenny McPeek | Maiden win, Churchill Downs | TBC |
| 5 | Summer Starlet | Flavien Prat | Steve Asmussen | Won the Spinaway (G1) | TBC |
| 6 | Forever Carina | Jose Ortiz | Chad Brown | Maiden win, Saratoga | TBC |
| 7 | High Speed Reed | John Velazquez | Mark Casse | Maiden win, Churchill Downs | TBC |
| 8 | Elewene | Luis Saez | Dale Romans | Allowance win, Churchill Downs | TBC |
Jessamine (Grade 2)
Race 8, 4:44pm ET. $400,000, 1 1/16 miles on the turf, two year old fillies. The winner goes to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, and there are 12 in the field.
Start with the form from Saratoga's P.G. Johnson. Glycogen won it for John Servis and gets John Velazquez here. The fillies who ran second and third that day, Mel Went Home and Pros and Cons, are both back for another go, so we already know how three of these match up.
Brad Cox runs two recent maiden winners in Monique En Vol for Irad Ortiz Jr. and Lucky Bernadine for Prat. Seneca Park won the Untapable last time, and Jeremiah O'Dwyer's Mightily was second in the Kitten's Joy at Colonial Downs.
Our take: Glycogen already has the measure of two of these. Big fields of juvenile fillies on the grass throw up prices, though, so we'd spread in the horizontals and use both Cox runners.
| Post | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Last Start | Morning Line |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pros and Cons | Jose Ortiz | Mark Casse | 3rd, P.G. Johnson | TBC |
| 2 | Mel Went Home | Cristian Torres | Robert Medina | 2nd, P.G. Johnson | TBC |
| 3 | Monique En Vol | Irad Ortiz Jr. | Brad Cox | Maiden win | TBC |
| 4 | Beautiful Harper | Tyler Gaffalione | Cherie DeVaux | Maiden win, Colonial Downs | TBC |
| 5 | Seneca Park | Brian Hernandez Jr. | Dallas Stewart | Won the Untapable | TBC |
| 6 | Glycogen | John Velazquez | John Servis | Won the P.G. Johnson | TBC |
| 7 | Golden Maiden | Emmanuel Esquivel | Kenny McPeek | Maiden win, Saratoga | TBC |
| 8 | Lucky Bernadine | Flavien Prat | Brad Cox | Maiden win | TBC |
| 9 | Quibbler | Jaime Torres | Riley Mott | Maiden win | TBC |
| 10 | Serenas Ghost | Luis Saez | Joe Sharp | Maiden win | TBC |
| 11 | Elegante Miz | Keith Asmussen | Patrick Biancone | 3rd, Kentucky Downs Juvenile Fillies | TBC |
| 12 | Mightily | Luan Machado | Jeremiah O'Dwyer | 2nd, Kitten's Joy | TBC |
Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix (Grade 2)
Race 7, 4:12pm ET. $400,000, six furlongs on the dirt, three year olds and up. The winner earns a Breeders' Cup Sprint berth, and 11 are entered for the 174th running.
Nakatomi is back to defend his title. Wesley Ward's gelding came from last to first to win this race by a nose last year as the 8/5 favorite, and he's a Grade 1 winner who has run in the Breeders' Cup before. He loves this race, too. Before last year's win he was second in both 2023 and 2024, beaten three quarters of a length by Hoist the Gold and then 5½ lengths by Federal Judge. He comes in off a fourth in a Saratoga allowance, though, and he's seven now.
There's another reason to watch Nakatomi. Irad Ortiz Jr. rides him again, and Friday is Ortiz's first day back since August 8, when a horse pinned his foot against the rail at Saratoga and left him with seven small fractures. He feared he'd miss the rest of the year, but his doctor decided against surgery. The injury ended his Saratoga meet early, cost him the Alabama on Counting Stars and the Travers on Renegade, and came as he chased another title at a track where he'd been leading rider four years running. He has seven mounts on Friday, including Monique En Vol in the Jessamine. He was also the one who got Nakatomi up by a nose in this race last year.
The class of the field this time might be Hymn. Ron Moquett's sprinter won the Grade 1 Forego at Saratoga in August, a race we mentioned in our Belmont preview because Vosburgh runner Senior Officer dead heated for second behind him. Verifire won the Reigh Count at Colonial Downs for Brad Cox and Prat, and Booth won the Iowa Sprint for Asmussen.
Our take: Hymn on top, with Nakatomi and Verifire in the exacta.
| Post | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Last Start | Morning Line |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mad House | Sonny Leon | David VanWinkle | 4th, Bing Crosby | TBC |
| 2 | Booth | Jose Ortiz | Steve Asmussen | Won the Iowa Sprint | TBC |
| 3 | Little Thunder | John Velazquez | Timothy Hamm | Allowance win, Saratoga | TBC |
| 4 | Verifire | Flavien Prat | Brad Cox | Won the Reigh Count | TBC |
| 5 | Classic of Course | Luis Saez | Patrick Biancone | 2nd, Benny the Bull | TBC |
| 6 | Viking | Tyler Gaffalione | David Fawkes | Handicap win, Gulfstream Park | TBC |
| 7 | C K Wonder | Luan Machado | Dale Romans | Allowance win | TBC |
| 8 | Hymn | Rafael Bejarano | Ron Moquett | Won the Forego (G1) | TBC |
| 9 | Jack's Promise | Brian Hernandez Jr. | Dale Romans | 4th, Louisville Thoroughbred Society | TBC |
| 10 | Nakatomi | Irad Ortiz Jr. | Wesley Ward | 4th, Saratoga allowance | TBC |
| 11 | Here Mi Song | Edgar Morales | William Stinson Jr. | 4th, allowance | TBC |
The Rest of Fall Stars Weekend
Friday is only the start. Fall Stars Weekend runs through Sunday with 11 stakes worth $6.35 million, including six Grade 1s and eight Win and You're In races. Saturday is the biggest day of the weekend, with the Coolmore Turf Mile, the First Lady and the Claiborne Breeders' Futurity, and it gets its own preview.
Sunday closes the weekend with three more stakes. The Grade 1 Juddmonte Spinster is the feature, and the Castle & Key Bourbon also carries a Breeders' Cup berth. Sunday's fields are drawn later in the week.
| Stakes | Grade | Purse | Distance and Surface | Conditions | Win and You're In |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Juddmonte Spinster | G1 | $650,000 | 1 1/8 miles, dirt | Fillies and mares, 3 and up | Yes |
| Castle & Key Bourbon | G2 | $400,000 | 1 1/16 miles, turf | Two year olds | Yes |
| Indian Summer | G3 | $350,000 | 5½ furlongs, turf | Two year olds | No |
Bet Keeneland Opening Day
Three Breeders' Cup berths, an unbeaten Grade 1 winner, and a defending Phoenix champion looking for a repeat make this a strong opening day. And with Belmont racing on Friday too, there's plenty to bet from 1pm ET right through to the Alcibiades at 5:16pm ET.
Bet online at app.mywinners.com, on the MyWinners: Racing & Sports app on iOS or Android, or go here to find your nearest MyWinners or Winners venue in CT.
Frequently Asked Questions
Keeneland's 2026 fall meet opens on Friday, October 2 and runs for 17 days through October 24. First post on opening day is 1pm ET, and there's no racing on Mondays or Tuesdays.
The Darley Alcibiades is Race 9 on Friday, October 2, with a scheduled post time of 5:16pm ET. The Phoenix goes at 4:12pm ET and the Jessamine at 4:44pm ET.
All three stakes. The Alcibiades winner goes to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, the Jessamine winner to the Juvenile Fillies Turf, and the Phoenix winner to the Sprint.
Yes. Summer Starlet earned her Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies berth by winning the Grade 1 Spinaway at Saratoga on September 5, so the Alcibiades is a prep for her rather than a qualifier.
You can bet every race at Keeneland at app.mywinners.com or on the MyWinners app, and in person at Winners venues across Connecticut. Online betting is open to customers 18 and over.
Image by Don Sniegowski, licensed under CC by 2.0.
