You know it’s a fantastic day of virtual racing when a $750.000 Grade 1 isn’t big enough to get into an eight-race Pick ’em! That’s because it was not a “win and you’re in” race for the BC, but in spite of that, you can count on several horses from this race running in the BC at SA next month. Demanding Commander was not one of them in 2022 despite having a good season that saw her win close to $700.000.

In July, Fractious purchased Purple Charger for $550.000 a few weeks after winning the Astoria, and the investment is already paying off. The filly had look strong in her first two races for Fractious, winning the Schuylerville, but now a much greater purse would await her in the Alcibiades.

On Saturday at KEE, the 19th running of the First Lady will be taking place, and a field of eleven will heading to the starting gate in hopes of collecting the winners share of the $750.000 purse that is offered. That purse level was new to the race in 2022, and was a large increase of $350.000 from where it had been previously.

The Grade 1 Alcibiades is about as good as it can get for two year old fillies, as the race offers a generous $600.000 purse and the coveted ticket to the BC Juvenile Fillies. That purse is an increase of $100.000 from last year, and last year saw a similar increase from 2021, so the status of this race is quite impressive, indeed.