Shakertown Winner Leinster Headlines Evenly Matched Field of Nine for Woodford Presented by TVG

Leinster, winner of this past July’s Shakertown (G2), tops an evenly matched field of nine turf sprinters entered Wednesday for Saturday’s 24^th running of the $150,000 Woodford Presented by TVG (G2).

The Woodford Presented by TVG, contested at 5½ furlongs on the Keeneland turf course, is the first of five graded stakes on Saturday’s 11-race program that begins at 1:05 p.m. ET. Post time for the stakes, the afternoon’s sixth race, is 3:45 p.m.

Owned by the partnership of Amy Dunne, Brenda Miley, Westrock Stables and Jean Wilkinson and trained by Rusty Arnold, Leinster has not raced since posting a head victory in the Shakertown. Second in the Woodford last year, Leinster will be ridden by Luis Saez and break from post position eight.

Only two other horses have won the Shakertown and Woodford in the same year: Silver Timber (2010) and Havelock (2013).

Also exiting the Shakertown is DARRS, Inc.’s Extravagant Kid, who finished fifth beaten only 1¼ lengths.

Trained by Brendan Walsh, Extravagant Kid was fifth in last year’s Woodford and most recently finished second in the TwinSpires Turf Sprint (G2) Presented by Sysco at Churchill Downs on Sept. 4. Tyler Gaffalione has the mount and will exit post position one.

The field for the Woodford Presented by TVG, from the inside with riders and weights, is: Extravagant Kid (Gaffalione, 120 pounds), Fast Boat (Adam Beschizza, 120), Real News (Joel Rosario, 120), Just Might (Colby Hernandez, 120), Chaos Theory (Umberto Rispoli, 120), Chaps (Corey Lanerie, 120), Win Lion Win (Shaun Bridgmohan, 120), Leinster (Saez, 122) and Citrus Burst (Joe Talamo, 118).