Walsh earns first Keeneland title in tie with Cox

A Keeneland press release (Coady Media/Maddy Becker photo of Brendan Walsh after Forever After All gave him a third stakes victory at the meet in the closing day Bewitch)

Favored Forever After All Wins Bewitch Presented by Keeneland Sales
on Closing Day of Keeneland Spring Meet

LEXINGTON, KY (April 25, 2025) – Dixiana Farms’ homebred favorite Forever After All swept to the front rounding the final turn and coasted to a 9-length victory in the $350,000 Bewitch (G3) Presented by Keeneland Sales today, closing day of Keeneland’s 15-day Spring Meet. The margin of victory equals the record for the race, set by Shore in the first division in 1966.

Ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr. for trainer Brendan Walsh, Forever After All covered 1½ miles on a turf course rated as yielding in 2:35.56.

Forever After All paid $5.62, $3.34 and $2.32. Youknownothing finished second under Florent Geroux and returned $10.92 and $5.12. Immensitude (FR), ridden by Flavien Prat, was 6¼ lengths behind in third and paid $2.58 to show.

Dazzlin’ Dictator was another 3¾ lengths behind in fourth and was followed by Eternal Silence, Sabalenka and Sand and Sea.

A graduate of Keeneland’s September Yearling Sale, Forever After All is a 6-year-old mare by Connect out of Julia Tuttle, by Giant’s Causeway. She is a half-sister to Grade 1 winner and sire Tom’s d’Etat.

The Bewitch victory was worth $211,575 to Forever After All, who recorded her fourth win in 24 starts and increased her earnings to $782,454.

Quotes for the Bewitch (G3) Presented by Keeneland Sales

Click here for a replay of the race and the post-race interview with winning connections.

Irad Ortiz Jr. (winning rider of Forever After All)

“I just tried to follow the instructions. The turns (at Keeneland) are much better for her. She’s a big filly. She has a huge stride on her. I think these turns helped her a lot. She’s been running at Gulfstream and the firm turf and tight turns (there) don’t help her too much, but I think today she was very impressive. I just tried to stay close like (trainer) Brendan (Walsh) told me before the race. She was close enough, I think, to get there. By the three-eighths pole, she started making her stride and she did the rest, to be honest.”

Brendan Walsh (winning trainer)

“She’s been improving all year. It was great to see her do that. It’s fantastic. It’s great for Mr. (William) Shively (who owns Dixiana Farms) and all the team at Dixiana, so it’s great.”

On options going forward
“She’s actually in foal. She was bred about three or four weeks ago to Flightline, so we’re going to have a limited rest of our time with her: one, maybe two more runs. We might try to pick out a race or two and maybe try to give her a shot at a Grade 1 if one fits somewhere along the line.”

On being tied with Brad Cox for leading trainer of the Spring Meet
“You never (expect to have this kind of success) because it’s a super tough meet, but it’s been great. It’s thanks to the owners who supplied us with some great horses, but really it’s a tribute to my staff. They put in great work every day, so it’s a tribute to them. It’s all them.”

Starting with Blue Grass on Tuesday, Keeneland concludes memorable meet

Keeneland concluded its 2025 Spring Meet on Friday following 15 days of spectacular Thoroughbred racing that produced total wagering of $192 million and featured a calendar of special events to benefit the community. The Spring Meet was slated to begin Friday, April 4, but severe storms and flooding rainfall in the Bluegrass region forced Keeneland officials to take the unprecedented step of rescheduling the opening two days, resulting in the Central Bank Ashland (G1) and the Toyota Blue Grass (G1) moving to Monday, April 7 and Tuesday, April 8, respectively. 

“The success of this Spring Meet is a salute to the power of teamwork, and we are grateful to all who helped as we navigated the weather-related challenges of opening weekend,” Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin said. “Moving our two biggest race days – opening Friday and Saturday – to Monday and Tuesday, when we typically don’t race, wasn’t easy, but it was the right decision to keep our horses and community safe. I am proud of the resiliency of our Keeneland team, and we offer a huge thanks for the support of our horsemen, sponsors and fans.”

All-sources wagering (not including whole card simulcasting at Keeneland) for the 15-day Spring Meet of $192,676,486 was down 11.92% from last spring’s 16-day meet total of $218,741,501. 

Spring Meet handle was significantly impacted by the rescheduled opening because the Central Bank Ashland and the Toyota Blue Grass race days are among the biggest of the year at Keeneland. All-sources wagering on Central Bank Ashland Day was $11,465,100 versus $18,174,298 in 2024, while wagering on Toyota Blue Grass Day was $20,330,175 versus $29,261,347 last year, a combined difference of $15.7 million.  

On-track handle totaled $13,290,263, a decrease of 16.05% compared to $15,831,087 last year.

Spring Meet Highlights

During the Spring Meet, Keeneland offered a season-record $9.4 million for 19 stakes. Purses were increased for 16 of those stakes, led by the $250,000 boost to the $1.25 million Toyota Blue Grass and $150,000 increase to the $750,000 Central Bank Ashland.

Average daily purses were a Keeneland record $1,327,434.

This Spring, Keeneland also welcomed Valvoline^TM Global Operations, a worldwide leader in automotive and industrial solutions, as sponsor of the $400,000 Shakertown (G2), won by Godolphin’s Think Big.

Among the other memorable moments during the meet:

• Burnham Square won the Toyota Blue Grass to vault to the top of the points leaderboard for the 151^st running of the $5 million Kentucky Derby (G1) Presented by Woodford Reserve to be run at Churchill Downs on May 3.

• La Cara was never headed in posting a 1¼-length victory in the Central Bank Ashland to become a leading contender for the Kentucky Oaks (G1) at Churchill on May 2. 

• E Five Racing Thoroughbreds’ Carl Spackler (IRE) returned to the races with a record 4¼-length victory in the $650,000 Maker’s Mark Mile (G1). With the victory, e Five earned a Keeneland Tray in honor of its eighth graded stakes win at Keeneland as part of the track’s Milestone Trophy Program. 

• Racing Hall of Fame conditioner Bill Mott and longtime Keeneland-based trainer Rusty Arnold closed the Spring Meet tied with 307 wins each, the most by a trainer at Keeneland. Mott earned one win during the meet to increase his total to 307. Arnold won four races, including his 25^th Keeneland stakes win with Tennessee Lamb in the Ben Ali (G3), to reach 307.

“The strong support of our horsemen is what makes Keeneland racing so special,” Keeneland Vice President of Racing Gatewood Bell said. “Owners, trainers and jockeys always bring their ‘A’ game to Keeneland. They love to test their skills and their horses against the best of the best, which creates a tremendous product for our fans and handicappers.”

Spring Meet Leaders

The races for Keeneland leading jockey, trainer and owner were as competitive as the racing itself.

The battle for leading rider seesawed in the closing days between Luis Saez, Jose Ortiz, Irad Ortiz Jr. and Flavien Prat, currently the top four riders nationally by earnings.

Flavien Prat won five races during the final two days of the meet to push his total to 20 and secure his first Keeneland leading rider title. His record was punctuated by three-win days on April 8 and April 24 and victories with Extra Anejo in the Commonwealth (G3) and Carl Spackler in the Maker’s Mark Mile. 

Luis Saez and Jose Ortiz tied for second place in the standings with 18 wins each. Saez recorded two three-win days, on April 12 and April 18, and a triumph in the Jenny Wiley (G1) with Choisya (GB). Ortiz’s meet was highlighted by wins in the Appalachian (G2) Presented by Japan Racing Association with Nitrogen, the Baird Doubledogdare (G3) with Gin Gin and the Ben Ali with Tennessee Lamb. 

Irad Ortiz Jr. finished third with 16 wins, capped by the Stonestreet Lexington (G3) aboard Gosger, the FanDuel Limestone (L) with Shisospicy and the Bewitch (G3) Presented by Keeneland Sales with Forever After All.

The race for leading trainer by Brad Cox, Wesley Ward and Brendan Walsh also went down to the wire, with Walsh and Cox each notching a win on closing day to share the title with 10 wins apiece.

Walsh celebrated his first Keeneland training title, boosted by three stakes wins: the Bewitch with Forever After All, the Stonestreet Lexington with Gosger and the Baird Doubledogdare with Gin Gin.

For Cox, it was his second Spring Meet training title and seventh Keeneland title overall.

Ward finished second with nine wins.

Brad Kelley’s Calumet Farm won five races, including two stakes, to be the Spring Meet’s leading owner. It is the second leading owner title for Calumet under Kelley’s ownership. Calumet won the Baird Doubledogdare with Gin Gin and the Ben Ali with Tennessee Lamb.

Keeneland Honors its Philanthropic Mission

Keeneland partnered with corporate and Thoroughbred industry entities this Spring to host special events with philanthropic goals that benefit Central Kentucky community organizations.  

• Keeneland and Maker’s Mark^® offered the second bottle in their Greats of the Gate commemorative bottle series celebrating Thoroughbred racing’s most iconic horses. This year’s bottle honors the legendary racehorse and stallion Lexington. Proceeds benefit the nonprofits Kentucky Classic Arts, Kentucky Harvest, Art Center of the Bluegrass and Blue Grass Farms Charities.
• Toyota, sponsor of the Toyota Blue Grass, joined Keeneland in making a $10,000 donation to the YMCA of Central Kentucky. 
• A record 5,100 full-time students representing 115 colleges and universities attended College Scholarship Day Presented by Lane’s End held Friday, April 11. Students had the opportunity to win one of ten $2,000 scholarships provided by Keeneland and the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association or one of two $10,000 scholarships offered by Lane’s End Farm.
• Barbara Banke’s Stonestreet, sponsor of the Stonestreet Lexington, partnered with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s office and Keeneland to highlight Team Kentucky Storm Relief and encourage donations to assist people impacted by severe weather around the state.
• Keeneland hosted 1,700 members of the military, first responders, health care workers and their families for Heroes Day on Sunday, April 13. Heroes and their families received free General Admission, complimentary lunch from Marriott Griffin Gate and access to special activities throughout the afternoon, highlighted by a flag rollout on the main track.

• Members of the Keeneland jockey colony teamed with retired riders for an autograph session on Saturday, April 19 that raised $6,254 for the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF). The same day, Keeneland partnered with Hall of Fame riders, leading active jockeys and racing personalities to raise a record $445,000 during the seventh annual PDJF Telethon Presented by Lane’s End.
• Keeneland and Country Boy Brewing of Lexington again partnered to produce Keeneland Lager. Country Boy Brewing, Kentucky Eagle and other distributors donated $1 per case to Blue Grass Farms Charities.