Dueling by gun was outlawed in Kentucky in 1827, but nothing was mentioned about horse racing. A couple of companion stakes Sunday at Kentucky Downs might well result in stretch battles befitting what occurred two centuries ago when men fired shots at one another on what once was the Sanford Duncan estate. The $750,000 Dueling Grounds Derby and the $500,000 Dueling Grounds Oaks are the races that will help open the six-day meet at turf-only Kentucky Downs in south-central Kentucky. They’ll anchor an 11-race card that starts at 12:15 p.m. Central, with the Oaks and Derby going back-to-back at 4:50 and 5:25. The Dueling Grounds Derby is for 3-year-olds and the Oaks for 3-year-old fillies, and both will be run at the once-around distance of 1 5/16 miles. Six maiden-specials (races 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 11) and two allowances (races 5 and 7) help round out a terrific opener filled with big fields. Lasix treatment is not permitted in stakes at any Kentucky track, nor in any 2-year-old races. A 50 percent chance of showers is in the local forecast. Wagering on Kentucky Downs is available at DRF Bets. Dueling Grounds Oaks It’s been a great 30 days for Vicki Oliver and her stretch-running turf fillies. Flippant won the Virginia Oaks earlier this week at Colonial Downs after being part of a three-win spree for the trainer on the Aug. 7 Kentucky Downs Preview card at Ellis Park, where Core Values closed stoutly to defeat male rivals in a 1 1/8-mile prep for this opening-day program. :: Get DRF's free 2021 Kentucky Downs Player's Guide Oliver will travel from her Lexington, Ky., base Sunday with her husband and work partner, Phil Oliver, to saddle Core Values for BBN Racing as one of the prime contenders in the Dueling Grounds Oaks, which drew a field of nine fillies. Remarkably, Core Values has won her last three starts at 28-1, 11-1, and 11-1, but surely she’ll be in the lower single digits on the tote this time when gunning for a fourth straight. The bay daughter of Honor Code will break from post 8 with Rafael Bejarano up. “Vicki and Phil have done a great job developing her,” said Brian Klatsky, a co-founder of BBN (Big Blue Nation). “Once we got her back on turf, she really blossomed, and she keeps getting better. We’re looking forward to the additional ground Sunday.” The chief threat to Core Values could be Adventuring (post 6, Joel Rosario), a Godolphin homebred who was a close third as the favorite behind Flippant in one of the Ellis preps. Other contenders include the uncoupled Mark Casse duo of Inthewinnerscircle (post 3, Julien Leparoux), a Florida-bred coming off a sharp allowance win over the Woodbine turf, and Earth Strike (post 9, Declan Carroll), an Irish-bred exiting a tough Saratoga allowance. Line Dancing (post 4, Tyler Gaffalione) is a likely scratch after finishing fifth for trainer Michael Matz in the Virginia Oaks on Tuesday. This is the seventh running of the Dueling Grounds Oaks. The purse includes $250,000 from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund, with the only fillies ineligible for those bonuses being the Casse pair. The 2020 winner was Micheline, with Rosario riding for Mike Stidham. Dueling Grounds Derby Du Jour fared respectably in back-to-back Grade 1 turf races in New York after being transferred into the care of Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott following his victory in the American Turf on Kentucky Derby Day for Bob Baffert, so he figures as a logical lukewarm favorite in a full gate of 12 colts and geldings when returning to Kentucky for this race. :: DRF’s Labor Day Sale: Save big on DRF Formulator Past Performances, Picks, Clocker Reports, Betting Strategies, and DRF+ Pro. Limited time only. With Rosario riding from the outside post, Du Jour will be trying to improve off a fourth in the July 10 Belmont Derby and a third in the Aug. 7 Saratoga Derby. The Temple City colt figures to sit a mid-pack trip, with Yes This Time, Cellist, and Royal Prince as his main opposition. Yes This Time (post 3, Gaffalione) was pinched off at the break in the Saratoga Derby, leading to an eighth-place finish that snapped a five-race win streak. “This horse deserves another shot at the big races,” said trainer Kelly Breen, who will be making his first trip to Kentucky Downs. “I don’t think he had a fair opportunity to show what he can do at Saratoga.” Cellist (post 8, Leparoux) won the May 29 Audubon at Churchill Downs before running third in the Belmont Derby and sixth in the Saratoga Derby for Rusty Arnold, who is tied with Mott as the third-leading trainer in Kentucky Downs history with 23 wins each. Royal Prince (post 9, Brian Hernandez Jr.) comes off runner-up finishes in the June 26 War Chant and the Aug. 7 preview at Ellis for Brad Cox, who is contending for a second straight Eclipse Award as the nation’s top trainer. This is the ninth running of the Dueling Grounds Derby. The Irish-bred Modern Science is the only starter ineligible for KTDF bonuses totaling $375,000. Mott won the 2020 renewal with Moon Over Miami, ridden by Javier Castellano.