The Eight Bellies is a good example of a race that has grown through time. When it first appeared on the schedule, it was a Grade 3, but only offered a $100.000 purse. It stayed around that level for around a decade before gradually increasing to $300.000. Then, last year, it would get another increase, up to its current level of $500.000, making it one of the highlights of KYO day on Friday.

The big weekend is upon us at CD, and while the KYO and the KYD are the true highlights of these two dates, there are plenty of exciting races being held on the undercard both on Friday and on Saturday with high purses of their own that trainers look to win. Here, we will look at the Alysheba, which is for older horses on the main track, taking them a little more than a mile.