The first graded stakes race in Kentucky since last fall's Churchill Downs meet is upon us with today's Grade 3 Jeff Ruby from Turfway Park, the highlight race of that track's season. In all, six stakes are on tap at Turfway today - where the weather forecast calls for afternoon rain and temperatures in the 50s.

Beyond an inconvenience, wet weather takes on little significance at Turfway, which has a synthetic Polytrack surface.

Here's a quick preview of the all the stakes action on the day. There will be an all-stakes pick 5 beginning with the seventh race and a couple of all-stakes pick fours, beginning on races six and eight.

Race 6, The Animal Kingdom.

Up first among the stakes as the sixth race is the $50,000 Animal Kingdom, named in honor of the 2011 Kentucky Derby winner who won the Jeff Ruby when it was called the Spiral. That race, over 6 1/2 furlongs, is highlighted by Hawaiian Noises and comebacking Armistice Day. Although the latter shows no published works in his past performances - works for Tommy Drury trained horses from Skylight often go unpublished - he looms a major player, starting a barn that does well with fresh horses.

Race 7, The Latonia

Graded winner Princess Warrior is the class of this one-mile ungraded stake, though not having raced on synthetic or at all this year, she enters with some question marks. Interesting alternatives are Eqho and Silent Sonet, both of whom have established synthetic form.

Race 8, The DRFBets Rushaway

Federal Law - one of the early favorites for the Queen's Plate - and Onthewaytonevrland - are likely to attract most of the public's betting dollars, though this might not just be a two-horse race. Faraway Kitten, coming to Turfway by way of Gulfstream, looks like a threat and seems a mild overlay at his 5-1 morning line.

Race 9, The Kentucky Cup Classic

Nun the Less won the Prairie Bayou over this track in December and seems legit, as do Mike Maker trainees Sniper Kitten and Sir Dudley Digges, but Royal Son is the choice. A three-time winner from six starts at Turfway, he sits at 5-1 on the morning line, with his form having been tarnished by three consecutive defeats. He had excuses for those losses, however (poor trip, turf, comeback race).

Race 10, The Bourbonette

A Kentucky Oaks points race, the Bourbonette drew a deep field of 12, led by Into Trouble, who won the Arlington Washington Lassie last summer on Polytrack at Arlington. She has limited route experience, having failed just one prior time around two turns, though in Grade 1 company on dirt.

Among her chief rivals are Unapologetic Me and Red Rounder, a pair of fillies that are proven routers that go from turf to synthetic.

Race 11, The Jeff Ruby

Favorites Somelikeithotbrown and Skywire appear rock solid. The former is Grade 1-placed and a stakes winner over the Turfway strip, and the latter is two-for-two and a colt that won over synthetic at Woodbine last year.

Among the others, the most dangerous appears to be Five Star General, the expected pacesetter who comes off a troubled sixth in the Sam F. Davis.

And that concludes the stakes. But before I wrap up, the early scratches are listed below. Suspect more to come later today.

Race One: #4, #8

Race Three: #1, #6

Race Four: #5, #8

Race Five: #2, #4, #5, #8, #9

Race Seven: #11, #14

Race Ten: #1