Racing

Fields Set for Saturday’s Toyota Blue Grass and Central Bank Ashland

March 30, 2021

Undefeated champion Essential Quality is favored in Toyota Blue Grass
Post positions for Saturday’s 97^th running of the Toyota Blue Grass (G2) and 84^thrunning of the Central Bank Ashland (G1) were drawn today at Keeneland. (Click here to watch the post position draw for both races.) They will be run Saturday, the second day of Keeneland’s 15-day Spring Meet. The season runs April 2-23.

Additional information, including quotes from Toyota Blue Grass trainers, will be coming.

$800,000 Toyota Blue Grass (G2), 3-year-olds, 1 1/8 miles
Weight: 123 lbs. * Race 11 * Post time: 6:35 p.m. ET

Post	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Morning-Line Odds
1	Hidden Stash	Vicki Oliver	Rafael Bejarano	20-1
2	Untreated	Todd Pletcher	Joel Rosario	8-1
3	Highly Motivated	Chad Brown	Javier Castellano	7-2
4	Essential Quality	Brad Cox	Luis Saez	3-5
5	Rombauer	Michael McCarthy	Florent Geroux	15-1
6	Leblon	Paulo Lobo	Albin Jimenez	30-1
7	Hush of a Storm	William Morey	Santiago Gonzalez	15-1
8	Sittin On Go	Dale Romans	Corey Lanerie	30-1
9	Keepmeinmind	Robertino Diodoro	David Cohen	8-1

The Toyota Blue Grass will be the final race of Keeneland’s April 3 card with a 6:35 p.m. ET post. NBC Sports Network will televise the race along with the Wood Memorial (G2) Presented by Resorts World Casino from Aqueduct and Runhappy Santa Anita Derby (G1) from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

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$400,000 Central Bank Ashland (G1), 3-year-old fillies, 1 1/16 miles
Weight: 121 lbs. * Race 9 * Post time: 5:30 p.m.

Post	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Morning-Line Odds
1	Curlin’s Catch	Mark Casse	Chris Landeros	8-1
2	Pass the Champagne	George Weaver	Javier Castellano	4-1
3	Simply Ravishing	Kenny McPeek	Luis Saez	5-2
4	Moon Swag	Brendan Walsh	Adam Beschizza	10-1
5	Malathaat	Todd Pletcher	Joel Rosario	9-5
6	Will’s Secret	Dallas Stewart	Jon Court	7-2

Toyota Blue Grass and Central Bank Ashland are classic preps: For 3-year-olds, the Toyota Blue Grass and the Central Bank Ashland are respective major preps for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) on May 1 and Kentucky Oaks (G1) on April 30. The Toyota Blue Grass and Central Bank Ashland both carry 170 qualifying points for the Derby and Oaks on a 100-40-20-10 scale to the first four finishers.

Saturday’s card: Eleven races begin at 1:05 p.m.

Saturday graded stakes lineup: Six graded stakes are worth a total of $2.1 million.

Race 6 (3:51 p.m.) $200,000 Appalachian (G2) Presented by Japan Racing Association

Race 7 (4:24 p.m.) $200,000 Commonwealth (G3)

Race 8 (4:57 p.m.) $200,000 Shakertown (G2)

Race 9 (5:30 p.m.) $400,000 Central Bank Ashland (G1)

Race 10 (6:02 p.m.) $300,000 Madison (G1)

Race 11 (6:35 p.m.) $800,000 Toyota Blue Grass (G2)

Wagering: $500,000 Guaranteed All-Stakes Pick Five and $500,000 Guaranteed All-Stakes Pick Four.

How to watch the Spring Meet: TVG’s live, on-site coverage begins at 1 p.m. Thanks to the Keeneland Livestream Powered by Kentucky Utilities, fans can watch all races at no charge on Keeneland.com, Keeneland Race Day App, Keeneland Select, Keeneland’s Facebook page and Keeneland’s YouTube page.