Franklin Stakes 2024 Picks at Keeneland

By Jarrod Horak

The Grade 2, $350,000 Franklin Stakes will be run at Keeneland on Sunday, October 13, 2024. The full field of fillies and mares will travel 5 1/2 furlongs on the turf course and Star of Mystery is the 3-2 morning line favorite. The Grade 2 Franklin goes as the eighth race on Sunday with a scheduled post time of 4:44 p.m. EDT.

Franklin Stakes Analysis

#1 Star of Mystery (3-2) fired trifecta shots in 10 of 11 turf starts (5 wins). She won a Grade 2 in Dubai over the winter, and shipped to this country and was third vs. older males in the Jaipur (G1). She took on 3-year-old males in the Grade 3 Quick Call at Saratoga last time and easily handled that group as the favorite. Flavien Prat sticks with Charles Appleby’s talented filly and she is better than these on her best day.

#6 Dontlookbackatall (8-1) defeated Future Is Now in the Grade 3 Caress on July 25. She was second best in the Ladies Turf Sprint (G3) at Kentucky Downs last time and show finisher Ocean Club returned to capture the Noble Damsel (G3). Christophe Clement’s filly is sharp and tactical, and Tyler Gaffalione is her new pilot.

#5 Future is Now (4-1) captured three turf sprint stakes races this year. She beat Roses for Debra in the Intercontinental (G2) and Smart N Fancy, and she should make her presence felt from the outset under Paco Lopez.

#3 Roses for Debra (9-2) almost always finishes in the top three on turf for Christophe Clement. She won a pair of turf sprint stakes races last year and started her current campaign with a local turf sprint win in the Giant’s Causeway (G3) in April. She hit the board in her next two turf sprint stakes and switched to all-weather ground and won the Presque Isle Masters (G2) on Sept. 20. Irad Ortiz Jr. knows her well and she figures to stalk and pounce in the lane. 

Franklin Stakes Wagers

 Exacta 1-6

Trifecta key 1/5-6

Superfecta key 1/3-5-6

Franklin Stakes Video