Irad Ortiz Jr. returned to the saddle Oct. 2 at Keeneland and picked up a win in the Phoenix Stakes (G2) after missing nearly two months with a foot injury.
Two-time champion male sprinter Roy H died Oct. 2 following complications from colic at 14. Roy H had been a resident of the Kentucky Horse Park's Hall of Champions barn since November 2023.
West Point Thoroughbreds' Counting Stars is already favored to earn the Eclipse Award as outstanding 3-year-old filly, and now she faces older rivals for the first time in the Oct. 4 Spinster Stakes (G1) at Keeneland.
An evenly matched group of juveniles line up for the Oct. 4 Bourbon Stakes (G2T), which is a Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In race for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T).
In this week's On Racing, the emphasis on youth at this time each year is relentless. But let the congregation pause for a moment to give thanks for those tireless campaigners who have taken their people on long and glorious rides.
Emphatic was not to be denied in the Alcibiades Stakes (G1) Oct. 2 at Keeneland, as she sprinted early from the rail, held the lead throughout, and inched away from a closing Summer Starlet to remain undefeated in three races.
On Oct. 2, just three weeks after her winning debut at Horseshoe Indianapolis, Serenas Ghost registers a clear victory in the $388,250 Jessamine Stakes (G2T) at Keeneland.