Churchill Downs' 'Stars of Tomorrow I' Headlined by $80,000-Added Street Sense Overnight Stakes

Oct 26, 2017 Churchill Downs Communications,Darren Rogers

Calumet Farm’s Bravazo and G M B Racing’s Lone Sailor, the second and third place finishers, respectively, in the $500,000 Breeders’ Futurity (Grade I) at Keeneland, are set for a rematch in the $80,000-added Street Sense Overnight Stakes on Sunday’s opening day card at Churchill Downs’ 21-day Fall Meet.

Billed as “Stars of Tomorrow I,” each of Sunday’s 11 races is for 2-year-olds. Admission gates will open at 11:30 a.m. and the first race is 1 p.m.

The one-mile Street Sense, one of four stakes races on the juvenile showcase day, is carded as Race 10 at approximately 5:30 p.m. (all times Eastern). The undercard also includes the $80,000-added Rags to Riches Overnight Stakes for fillies, $200,000 Spendthrift Juvenile Stallion Stakes, and $200,000 Spendthrift Juvenile Filly Stallion Stakes.

The quartet of stakes serve as local steppingstones to the pair of Grade II, $200,000, 1 1/16-mile races on the Saturday, Nov. 25 “Stars of Tomorrow II” program – the open Kentucky Jockey Club and Golden Rod for fillies that are part of the Road to the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks series which award points to the Top 4 finishers (10-4-2-1).

Bravazo, a 2-year-old colt by Awesome Again trained by Hall of Fame conditioner D. Wayne Lukas, broke his maiden by 4 ¾ lengths at Churchill Downs on Sept. 16. The homebred attempted graded-stakes company for the first time in the Oct. 7 Breeders’ Futurity and tired after making up ground from just off the pace to finish second, four lengths back of Free Drop Billy, one of the top contenders in the Nov. 4 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (GI).

The chief rival to Bravazo could be Lone Sailor, who finished 2 ½ lengths behind Bravazo in the Breeders’ Futurity. Trained by Tom Amoss, the 2-year-old colt by Majestic Warrior was an 11-length maiden victor at Saratoga on Sept. 3 over the listed “sloppy” racetrack.

The Street Sense is named after James Tafel’s homebred winner of the 2007 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (GI). The colt earned $4.3 million in 13 races that included six victories, four seconds and two thirds.

The Street Sense Field from the rail out (with jockey): Twin Farms (Ricardo Santana Jr.); Netas (Julien Leparoux); Rubus (Joe Rocco Jr.); Ebben (James Graham); Renaisance Frolic (Jose Batista); Bravazo (Jon Court); Gotta Go (Chris Landeros); Honorable Treasure (Robby Albarado); Lone Sailor (Florent Geroux); and Souper Smart (Corey Lanerie).

All horses will tote 118 pounds except Renaisance Frolic who will carry 122.

The 128^th Fall Meet will feature 21 days of racing over a four-week stretch through Nov. 26. After Sunday’s opening day program, racing will be conducted on a Wednesday-Sunday schedule with dark days on Mondays and Tuesdays. Most programs will feature 10 races with admission gates opening at 11:30 a.m. and the first race at 1 p.m. Eleven-race programs are scheduled for opening day, Nov. 11 and Nov. 18, and there will be 12-race cards over the final four days of the meet (Nov. 23-26). There are special first race post times on three dates: Friday, Nov. 3 (2 p.m.); Saturday, Nov. 4 (2:15 p.m.) and the Thanksgiving Day card on Thursday, Nov. 23 (11:30 a.m.).

Overnight purses for the Fall Meet have skyrocketed 30 percent over the last five years. The average purse for an overnight race in 2012 – the year before the debut of Churchill Downs’ September Meet – was $32,672. The average purse per overnight race in this year’s condition book is $42,379. The prize money for maiden special weights is $60,000 compared to $50,000 five years ago. Allowance purses will range from $62,000 to $72,000 compared to $52,000 to $58,000 in 2012. All other overnight races have benefited from purse increases, as well.

To view more information about the Fall Meet visit: https://www.churchilldowns.com/racing-wagering/news/40-things-to-know-about-churchill-downs-fall-meet