Issue 16
Sports & Recreation
October 3, 2018 Page 5
Fall Star weekend begins this October causes chaos Friday at Keenland racecourse in MLB postseason By TREY SMALLWOOD Backpage Editor Keeneland’s fall meet is upon us. This Friday Keeneland will open its gates for its October race meet. The meet opens this Friday, Oct. 5, and continues through Saturday, Oct. 27. There are no races on Mondays or Tuesdays. Each day the gates open at 11 a.m. with first post occuring at 1:05 p.m. The opening weekend of each fall meet is called the Fall Stars Weekend. The meet this weekend will feature ten stakes races and nine Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” events. This weekend will be the best of horse racing anywhere in the country. These nine Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” events are all races that give automatic bids to the Breeder’s Cup: An event that hosts two days worth of races all at the competition level of the Kentucky Derby. Whether you go to Keeneland to have a good time or watch world class racing, you are in for a treat. Grade 1 stakes action on Fall Stars Weekend begins opening day with the 67th running of the $400,000 Darley Alcibiades for 2–year–old fillies going 1 1/16 miles on dirt. A “Win and You’re In” race for the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1), the Darley Alcibiades drew 44 nominations. A horse expected to lead the pack if entered is Serengeti Empress, trained by Tom Amoss. Serengeti
Empress won the Pocahontas (G2) at Churchill Downs by 19½ lengths on Sept. 15 at the Darley Alcibiades distance. Prior to that, she won the Ellis Park Debutante by 13½ lengths. The multiple graded stakes winner Whitmore is nominated to the 166th running of the $250,000 Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix, a “Win and You’re In” race for $2 million TwinSpires Breeders’ Cup Sprint. Promises Fulfilled and Limousine Liberal are among the 23 nominees to the 6–furlong dirt test. In past years, Limousine Liberal has ran in this race and done quite well. Promises Fulfilled, a past Kentucky derby contender, is expected to be Limousine Liberal’s new challenger. The 105th running of the $500,000 Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity (G1) for 2–year–olds at 1 1/16 miles on dirt attracted 56 nominations. The race is a “Win and You’re In” test for the $2 million Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1). The third Grade 1 race on Oct. 6 is the 21st running of the $400,000 First Lady for fillies and mares going a mile on turf. Attracting 27 nominations, the First Lady is a “Win and You’re In” race for the $2 million Maker’s Mark Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1). Chad Brown trains four nominees, including Grade 1 winners A Raving Beauty (GER) and Off Limits (IRE) plus, Ballston Spa (G2) winner Quidura (GB) and multiple
graded stakes winner, Rymska (FR). Miss Sunset, trained by Jeff Bonde, tops a roster of 25 nominees to the 38th running of the $250,000 Thoroughbred Club of America (G2) for fillies and mares going six furlongs on dirt. The race is a “Win and You’re In” dash for the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1). The fifth Grade 1 event of Fall Stars Weekend is the 63rd running of the $500,000 Juddmonte Spinster for fillies and mares going 1 1/8 miles on dirt. Scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 7, the Juddmonte Spinster is a “Win and You’re In” race for the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1). The Juddmonte Spinster drew 23 nominations headed by the nation’s top 3–year–old filly, Monomoy Girl, and Alabama (G1) winner, Eskimo Kisses. Completing the Fall Stars Weekend lineup on Oct. 7 are two “Win and You’re In” races for 2–year–olds, the 28th running of the $250,000 Dixiana Bourbon (G3) and the inaugural running of the $200,000 Indian Summer. The Dixiana Bourbon, which drew 54 nominations, is run at 1 1/16 miles on turf and is a “Win and You’re In” for the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1). Heading the nominees is Opry, winner of the With Anticipation (G3) at Saratoga, undefeated Kentucky Downs Juvenile winner, Henley’s Joy, and Del Mar Juvenile Turf winner King of Speed.
By ETHAN CUNDIFF Staff Writer Chaos? Yes, chaos. According to Webster’s Dictionary, chaos means a state of utter confusion. That has been the story of this baseball season and probably the same story for the postseason. This year we had four teams play 163 games in a typical 162 game season; which was the first time ever in MLB history. Both the National League central and west division had two teams tied for first place. Both leagues hosted an additional game to act as a tie–breaker going into tournament play. On Monday, Oct. 1st we saw two tie–breaking games. The Milwaukee Brewers faced the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley field. The second game fautured the Colorado Rockies facing the Los Angeles Dodgers. Both the Dodgers and Brewers went on to win the game and their respective division. This is where things will get interesting. The postseason started Tuesday with the wildcard games and divisional
games starting Thursday Oct. 4. With those tie–breaking games; makes it a lot easier for the Brewers because now they have homefield advantage for the rest of postseason. Looking at the American League side we have not gotten that much excitement. The American League postseason was set with just a week left to go in the regular season. The frontrunner to come out of this division is the Red Sox. I’m not going to say we are not going to see any chaos is the American League, but the Red Sox have run the tables all year. Can the Astros make some noise and throw them off their game? Who knows. With everything that has gone on this season and all the craziness that we saw coming down the stretch, be ready for something crazy to happen. You saw it in 2004 when the Red Sox came down from 3–0 in the ALCS. Do the heavyweights come out on top in each division? Do we see some underdog magic? I can not tell you what to expect because I don’t know. I can only warn you to be ready for the chaos of October.
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