(Bella Ballerina / Photos by Holly M. Smith)

From the Keeneland Media Team / Amy Owens:

$750,000 Central Bank Ashland on First Day of Keeneland Spring Meet Attracts 65 Nominees Led by Champion Super Corredora,
Undefeated Bella Ballerina and Zany

LEXINGTON, KY (Feb. 23, 2026) — Keeneland will kick off its 15-day Spring Meet on Friday, April 3 with 10 races led by the 89th running of the $750,000 Central Bank Ashland (G1), the year’s first Grade 1 stakes for 3-year-old fillies. A total of 65 horses — featuring 2025 Eclipse Award winner Super Corredoraand undefeated runners Bella Ballerina and Zany — have been nominated to the Central Bank Ashland.

Click here for a list of Central Bank Ashland nominees; click here for their past performances.

The 1 1/16-mile Central Bank Ashland on the dirt is an important early season target for sophomore fillies. Recent winners who went on to be named division champions are Nest (2022), Malathaat (2021) and Monomoy Girl (2018).

The ninth race with a post time of 5:16 p.m. ET, the Central Bank Ashland is one of four stakes on the first day of the Spring Meet. The others are the 38thrunning of the $600,000 UK HealthCare Transylvania (G3) for 3-year-olds racing 1 1/16 miles on the turf, the 41st running of the $400,000 MiddleGround Capital Beaumont (G2) for 3-year-old fillies going 7 furlongs on the dirt; and the 78th running of the $400,000 Lafayette (L) for 3-year-olds at 7 furlongs on the dirt.

First post on opening day is 1 p.m. Every race during the Spring Meet will be streamed live and at no charge on Keeneland.com and broadcast live on FanDuel TV. The season runs through Friday, April 24.

The Central Bank Ashland awards 100 points to the winner on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks. The next four finishers receive 50 points, 25 points, 15 points and 10 points, respectively, to the $1.5 million, Grade 1 race on May 2 at Churchill Downs.

Eleven of the top 14 point earners on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks are nominated to the Central Bank Ashland.

Spartan Equine Racing, West Point Thoroughbreds, Robert Gardiner and Michael Olszewski’s Super Corredora, winner of the 2025 NetJets Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1), finished fourth in her 2026 debut in the Las Virgenes (L) at Santa Anita on Feb. 8 for trainer John Sadler. The champion 2-year-old filly is a graduate of Keeneland’s September Yearling Sale.

Godolphin’s homebred Bella Ballerina, trained by Brendan Walsh, remained perfect in three starts with a victory in the Rachel Alexandra (G2) at Fair Grounds on Feb. 14. Bella Ballerina won the Golden Rod (G2) at Churchill to close her 2025 campaign.

Repole Stable’s Zany, trained by three-time Central Bank Ashland winer Todd Pletcher, also is perfect in three races with her most recent victory coming in the Suncoast (L) at Tampa Bay Downs on Feb. 7. Zany closed her 2025 campaign with a victory in the Demoiselle (G2) at Aqueduct. She is one of five fillies nominated to the Central Bank Ashland trained by Pletcher, who conditioned Nest and Malathaat and 2024 winner Leslie’s Rose.

Other notable Central Bank Ashland nominees include Bottle of Rouge, winner of the Del Mar Debutante (G1) and most recently the Sunland Park Oaks; three-time stakes winner Dazzling Dame, winner of the Busanda at Aqueduct by 11½ lengths in her last start; Explora, runner-up in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies and Las Virgenes and winner of the Oak Leaf (G2) Presented by Oak Tree Racing Association; Just Singing, third in the Golden Rod and Rachel Alexandra; Luv Your Neighbor, runner-up in the Rachel Alexandra and two other stakes; Meaning, winner of the Las Virgenes and fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies; and Percy’s Bar, a two-time Grade 1 runner-up and third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.

Brad Cox, who trained Monomoy Girl, leads all trainers with seven fillies nominated to the Central Bank Ashland.

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The late nomination deadline for the Central Bank Ashland is Wednesday, March 18.

Post positions for the Central Bank Ashland and the other April 3 races will be drawn Monday, March 30.