Keeneland opens spring meet Friday with Ashland Stakes and College Scholarship Day

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The two-week Spring Meet at Keeneland will begin Friday by giving away thousands of dollars in college scholarships as it hosts one of the final Kentucky Oaks preps.

The Lane's End College Scholarship Day at Keenland is a chance for full-time students to win thousands of dollars in scholarships

With a valid student ID, students get free access to Keeneland's spring meet Friday, and any student can pre-register online until 5 p.m. Friday, April 8, for a chance to win one of nine $2,000 scholarships. The stakes go up for those who go in-person where two students will win $10,000 scholarships.

"It's always so exciting to see the look on the students faces, especially those $10,000 scholarships," aid Kara Heissenbuttel, Keeneland's senior director of operations. "I mean, we have literally changed lives and track trajectories for students with those scholarships because they're so significant."

Friday's highlight is the running of the 85th running of the $600,000 Central Bank Ashland (G1). She tops a field of eight 3-year-old fillies on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks.

Nest, trained by Todd Pletcher, is the 2-1 morning-line favorite.

The race offers 170 points on a 100-40-20-10 scale to the first- through fourth-place finishers. The Kentucky Oaks, to be run May 6 at Churchill Downs, is limited to the top 14 point earners that pass the entry box.

The field for the Central Bank Ashland with riders and morning line odds, from the rail out, is: Miss Mattie B (Joel Rosario, 15-1), Interstatedaydream (Geroux, 5-2), Awake At Midnyte (Gutierrez, 4-1), Nest (Ortiz Jr., 2-1), Sterling Silver (Jose Ortiz, 15-1), Happy Soul (Velazquez, 5-2), Cocktail Moments (Lanerie, 12-1) and Heavenly Hellos (Edgar Morales, 50-1). All starters will carry 121 pounds. Post time is 5:16 p.m.

Keeneland's spring meet runs through April 29. It will award a record $7.7 million for 19 stakes run during the season.

To purchase your tickets for a racing day, click here.

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