Every win at Keeneland is cause for celebration, and TEST SCORE got us a tick in the win column on opening day of the 2024 fall meet in Lexington this afternoon. Twelve 2-year-old maidens lined up for the one mile event on the turf, with Test Score and Manuel Franco breaking from stall number three.

It was a superb ride from Manny and an eventful trip, as the chart attests. “Test Score transferred contact from an outer rival to an inner foe at the start, tracked along the inside, steadied when an outer rival moved across his path in upper stretch, regrouped shortly after, split foes to offer a four-wide bid among rivals in the final furlong, led and sparred with an outer rival through the final sixteenth and held gamely.”

This was Test Score’s third start. After finishing second in his debut at Saratoga on July 19, he stepped up to stakes company on August 29 in the With Anticipation Stakes-G3. He finished fifth in that effort after another troublesome start getting bumped between rivals.

Bred in Kentucky by Mrs. Jerry Amerman, Test Score, like Trikari, carries the blue and white colors of Amerman Racing LLC. He is by Lookin At Lucky, Eclipse Champion at 2 and 3 and winner of the 2010 Preakness Stakes. Test Score’s dam is the Kitten’s Joy mare Joy of Learning.

Congratulations to the Amermans on today’s maiden-breaking win!