Friday, April 3rd marked the opening of the 90th Annual Keeneland Spring Race Meet. April showers passed through the Lexington, Kentucky racetrack prior to the first race but cleared in time for most of the day’s action. Suspicions was victorious in a 4 1/2-furlong Maiden Special Weight race to kick things off. Ridden by Pietro Moran and trained by Wesley Ward, the colt was purchased for $200,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Yearling Sale last July. Ward will look to reclaim the Spring Meet training title, which he won five consecutive times prior to 2025 (excluding 2020, when there was no Spring Meet).

This meet will feature 15 race days and a total of 19 stakes races. Purses will reach a record level, with more than $9.5 million set to be awarded. Opening weekend is headlined by the Blue Grass Stakes, which carries a $1.25 million purse and awards 200 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby (100 to the winner). Further Ado is expected to go off as the favorite. The Brad Cox trainee was last seen finishing second to fellow three-year-old The Puma in the Tampa Bay Derby.

Opening day featured four stakes races. The first was the 78th running of the Lafayette Stakes, where Trouble Calling, ridden by Luis Saez and trained by Gregory Foley for owner Donamire Farm, edged out Oscar’s Hope, with Irad Ortiz Jr. aboard.

The feature race of the day was the 89th running of the Central Bank Ashland Stakes (G1), contested at a mile and a sixteenth. The race for three-year-old fillies saw Zany, representing Repole Stable, go off as the heavy 3-5 favorite but ultimately fall short. Percy’s Bar, trained by Ben Colebrook and ridden by Luan Machado, secured the victory. The filly had previously finished second twice and third once in Grade 1 company but finally broke through with a winning time of 1:45.72.

Brian Hernandez Jr. led all jockeys on opening day with two wins. A crowd of over 30,000 attended the races, and an even larger turnout is expected for Saturday’s Blue Grass Stakes card. With a strong start already in the books, the 2026 Spring Meet promises to deliver three weeks of high-quality racing, top-tier competition, and major implications on the road to the Kentucky Derby.