(Admit wins the G2 Valley View Stakes at Keeneland on Friday / All Photos by Coady Media)

From the Keeneland Media Team / Amy Owens:

Admit Takes Bank of America Valley View in Stakes-Record Time

LEXINGTON, KY (Oct. 24, 2025) – Claiborne Farm’s homebred Admit charged down the center of the turf course to overtake the leaders and record a 1½-length victory in the $400,000 Bank of America Valley View (G2) at Keeneland on Friday, the next-to-last day of the Fall Meet. Admit, who won the race in stakes-record time, gave her Racing Hall of Fame jockey, John Velazquez, his seventh stakes win of the season.

Velazquez ties another Hall of Famer, Pat Day, for the Keeneland record for number of stakes wins set during any season here. Day’s mark came during the 1998 Fall Meet

Trained by Tom Drury, Admit defeated 11 3-year-old fillies and covered 1 mile on firm turf in 1:35.17 — the fastest since 2003 when the stakes was first held at the distance.

Admit returned $20.60, $9.68 and $7.08. Runner-up Classic Q, ridden by Jose Ortiz, paid $7.52 and $5.70. Finishing a head behind in third was 35-1 longshot Somethinabouther, who paid $15.30 to show under Edgar Morales.

Completing the order of finish were 69-1 longshot Next Up, favored Tabiti (GB), Totally Justified, May Day Ready, Play With Fire, Reining Flowers, Sturgeon Moon, Vixen and Stormy Paradise.

Kentucky-bred Admit is by Blame and out of the War Front mare Profess, a winning half-sister to the breed-shaping sire Pulpit — winner of Keeneland’s Blue Grass in 1997.

Today’s win was worth $226,300 to Admit, who increased her earnings to $608,323 with four wins in 11 starts.

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Quotes for the $400,000 Bank of America Valley View (G2)

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

John Velazquez (winning rider of Admit)

“We ran to the first turn to make sure we got in a good position. (Jockey) Flavien (Prat on Play With Fire) in front of me was having a little trouble, bouncing around the first turn against the rail. Once we got to the backstretch, I kept her right behind the horse in front of me and kept her there. I put her in the clear a little bit and (her ears pricked up). I put her right behind some of the horses in front of me. I didn’t pull her out until the quarter pole when I came out and she put her ears (up), like fresh. When I asked her., she responded really well. Then she put her head in front and she felt by herself and she went to duck in, but I went left-handed and she responded nicely. (Trainer) Tommy (Drury Jr.) gave me a lot of confidence right before the race, that she was doing great, I should ride her how I want to, and it worked out really good.”

On tying jockey Pat Day’s record, set in October 1998, for most stakes wins by a jockey in a Keeneland meet with seven

“Incredible. Doing it at my age (53), I guess. Getting opportunities with all these horses. It’s nice to be wanted and to get the opportunities the way I’ve been given in this meet. The horses have been running well. You have to give it to the horses. I try to place them where I want to, and when you ask them and they respond, they make you a hero.”

Tom Drury (winning trainer)

“We were hopeful. Her last couple works have been fantastic, and we were cautiously optimistic. After the Kentucky Downs race (when fourth in the Blackwood Dueling Grounds Oaks Invitational-G3 on Sept. 10), Walker (Hancock, President of owner Claiborne Farm) reached out to me and said, ‘The Valley View at Keeneland seems like it’s the logical spot for her,’ and we kind of worked backward from that. I’m just truly at a loss for words. This is a lot of fun.”

On winning for Claiborne Farm, which has consistently supported him

“Claiborne put me on the map. Tommy Drury is known for working for Claiborne in whatever capacity I’m in, and to win a race like this for them, it means the world. It truly does. The whole (Hancock) family is here. I get to be a (trainer such as) Frankie Brothers or a Bill Mott for a day.”

Walker Hancock (President of owner Claiborne Farm)

“It’s nice when it all works out, because often times it doesn’t. We really like this filly. We ran her here in the (Central Bank) Ashland (G1 on April 7, finishing seventh) because we had some (Kentucky) Oaks (G1) aspirations, but obviously she has an affinity for the turf, and she showed it today. I think she’s the seventh or eighth generation of a (female) family of ours, so it’s nice to see it all come to fruition, when you cultivate these families year over year, generation over generation. To have Blame be her sire, who’s a homebred of ours as well (and stands at Claiborne), it’s really special.”

Jose Ortiz (rider of runner-up Classic Q)

“I was planning to be closer to the pace, but they were out running me earlier. I figured they’ll probably go fast, so I just tried to bide my time. It was a little bit hard for the filly to settle. She was throwing her head a bit. But I followed the winner almost every step of the way. We had a good trip and they both fired home. I wasn’t able to catch him (John Velazquez), but I’m very happy with the way she ran. She always runs on the lead or second, and today they outran her. It was good to see that she could run well like that.”

Edgar Morales (rider of third-place finisher Somethinabouther)

“It was tight in the first turn, but then she got herself together pretty well, came back running and ran a good race. (Early leader Stormy Paradise) was coming off sprint races to going long and it was kind of fast up there. My filly handled it all lovely. She is a nice filly — you can do anything you want with her. I had a clear run near the end and she fought but we got run down for second.”

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Saturday marks the 17th and final day of Keeneland’s Spring Meet with a 10-race card beginning at 1 p.m. ET.

Keeneland will offer a Super High 5 carryover of $23,819.

Three stakes are on the program: the $600,000 Bryan Station (G3), the $350,000 Hagyard Fayette (G3) and the $250,000 Bowman Mill.

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Since its first race meet 89 years ago, the Keeneland Association has devoted itself to the health and vibrancy of the Thoroughbred industry. The world’s largest Thoroughbred auction house, Keeneland conducts five on-site sales a year, in January, April, September and November. Graduates of Keeneland sales dominate racing across the globe at every level. In April and October, Keeneland offers some of the highest caliber and richest Thoroughbred racing in the world. Keeneland will host the Breeders’ Cup World Championships in 2026 for the fourth time, following 2015, 2020 and 2022. Uniquely structured, Keeneland is a privately held company with a not-for-profit mission that returns its earnings to the industry and the community in the form of higher purses and millions of dollars donated in support of horse industry initiatives and charitable contributions for education, research, and health and human services throughout Central Kentucky. Keeneland also maintains Keeneland Library, a world-renowned public research institution with the mission of preserving information about the Thoroughbred industry. To learn more, visit Keeneland.com.

For more information email Keeneland Communications Associate Amy Owens at aowens@keeneland.com