Erv Miller’s precocious Pebble Beach filly Dame Frances will look to stay undefeated following a track-record 1:50.4 performance at Oak Grove when she starts as the 2-1 morning line favourite in the $80,000 USD Kentucky Championship Series opening leg at The Red Mile, carded as the sixth race on the 15-race card this Tuesday (Aug. 4).

Dame Frances motored first-up in the $112,676 Kentucky Sire Stakes (KYSS) final at Oak Grove on July 13 to win going away by 3-1/4 lengths while also registering the fastest mile of the year by any pacing two-year-old on a five-eighths mile track. Atlee Bender remains at the controls as she’ll look to again put away Banana Beach (PP5, Andy McCarthy, 7-2), another speedy Pebble Beach filly whose unbeaten streak was snapped with a runner-up finish in the KYSS final at Oak Grove, along with six other rivals that includes Seaside Ubeaut (PP8, Dexter Dunn, 9-2), a Downbytheseaside filly out of world champion mare Warrawee Ubeaut who enters from a 1:53.2 romp in a KYSS maiden event at Oak Grove.

The four-day race week at The Red Mile kicks off on Sunday night (Aug. 2) with a 14-race card headlined by an $80,000 USD Kentucky Championship Series division for freshmen pacing colts and geldings, slated as Race 11. An overflow field of 11 will align to compete with Wishawave (PP5, Scott Zeron, 5-2) earning morning-line favouritism off back-to-back wins at The Meadowlands including a 1:52.3 effort in a Kindergarten preliminary on July 24. Linda Toscano trains the Bettors Wish colt who faces his toughest test yet as he competes against the likes of Gobstopper (PP1, Tim Tetrick, 8-1), who set the national season’s record for pacing freshmen with a 1:50.2 victory at The Meadowlands on July 18, as well as the scrappy Stay Hungry colt Midnight Drive (PP11, Marvin Luna, 6-1), who snatched the $112,676 KYSS final at Oak Grove with a 1:52.4 effort in his most recent start.

Freshmen trotting colts and geldings highlight the afternoon card on Monday, Aug. 3 with an $80,000 USD Kentucky Championship Series dash scheduled as Race 11 on the 15-race card. Oak Grove KYSS champ Carbon Fiber (PP4, Yannick Gingras, 7-2), who took the $112,676 final on July 14 in a track-record 1:53 mile, collides with a Gimpanzee colt out of world champion Mission Brief in Command Center (PP7, Dunn, 2-1), who is listed as the morning-line favourite off a 1:56.4 victory in his most recent qualifier with a :26.1 final quarter. The 10-horse field also attracts the second- and third-place finishers out of the Oak Grove KYSS final with Special Day (PP3, Andy McCarthy, 9-2) and Delivery Boy (PP6, Dewayne Minor, 6-1) competing.

Wednesday (Aug. 5) wraps the race week with a 14-race card that features an $80,000 USD Kentucky Championship Series division for two-year-old trotting fillies, slated as Race 5. Heart Of Secret (PP7, Yannick Gingras, 5-2) enters as the morning-line favourite off a 1:54 stroll to win the $112,676 KYSS final at Oak Grove in her most recent start with runner-up Merry Zee (PP10, Andy McCarthy, 6-1) also competing. The field of 10 also attracts the In Range filly Kissme Ifyoucan (PP2, Austin Hanners, 7-2), whose only loss from four starts came with a runner-up finish in the $214,286 Next Generation at Scioto Downs on July 4. The filly, listed as the second choice on the morning line, also sits second in North America on seasonal earnings for her cohort with $152,162 banked through four starts.

Each day of racing at The Red Mile will also feature $30,000 USD divisions of Kentucky Commonwealth Series, $15,000 USD divisions of Kentucky Golden Rod Series and $10,000 USD divisions of Kentucky Wildcat Series. First-race post time at The Red Mile on Sunday night is 5:05 p.m. (EDT), and first-race post time Monday through Wednesday is 1:00 p.m. (EDT).

(The Red Mile)