Recent Blue Grass Stakes News

• BARN Podcast 4/8/19 (4/7/2019) - We look back at a huge racing weekend including Blue Grass Stakes day at Keeneland, Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, and the Santa Anita Derby at… ...Read More
• Vekoma Much the Best in Blue Grass Stakes (4/7/2019) - With few exceptions, the top contenders in Saturday’s $1 million Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (gr. II) at Keeneland ran to expectations as favored Vekoma led home… ...Read More
• How to Bet the Blue Grass Day All-Stakes Pick 4 (4/4/2019) - The first Saturday of the 2019 Keeneland spring meet is a typical stakes-packed card highlighted by the $1 million Blue Grass Stakes (gr. II), a… ...Read More
• Why I’m Betting Signalman in the Blue Grass Stakes (4/4/2019) - To be honest, you could pick a name out of a hat and probably have as good a chance at picking the winner of Saturday’s… ...Read More
• BARN Podcast 4/4/19 (4/3/2019) - It's Horseplayer Thursday and we're talking all about the big races coming up this weekend. Keeneland has huge fields all weekend and we'll discuss the… ...Read More

Blue Grass Stakes History

The Blue Grass Stakes has been an important lead-up to the Kentucky Derby since its first edition in 1911. That year the runner-up, Meridian, went on to win the Run for the Roses. Originally held at the Kentucky Association track in Lexington, it moved to Keeneland in 1937.

The importance of the race is marked by its status as one of the eight leading races in the Road to the Kentucky Derby series. It’s one of three major races held four weeks prior to the Derby – the others are the Wood Memorial and the Santa Anita Derby – and like those races, the first four finishers get points in the series on a 100-40-20-10 basis. It means the winner definitely gets a place in the Kentucky Derby field, and most likely the runner-up as well.

So far there have been 23 Kentucky Derby winners that have used the Blue Grass Stakes as a prep race; only the Florida Derby (24) has had more success at producing winners of the Run for the Roses. Interestingly, only 11 of the 23 won the Blue Grass, so it’s worth looking behind the winner for potential Derby prospects.

The importance of the Blue Grass as a guide to the Derby isn’t quite what it once was. Since 1996 only one Blue Grass runner, Street Sense in 2007, went on to win at Churchill Downs. However, it’s worth noting that the editions between 2007 and 2014 were all on a synthetic track, much different to the dirt track at Churchill Downs, and the return to dirt at Keeneland may make it a better Derby guide.