Keeneland

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Keeneland Race Course at Dawn

There is also a town in Jefferson County, Kentucky, with the same name, unrelated to this article; for the town, see Keeneland, Kentucky.

Keeneland is a thoroughbred horse racing and sales complex in Lexington, Kentucky, and operated by the Keeneland Association.

1 History
2 Keeneland Sales
3 Physical attributes
4 Racing
5 References

[edit] History

The racing side of Keeneland, Keeneland Race Course, has conducted live race meets in April and October since 1936. It added a grass course in 1985. The spring meet contains several preps for the Kentucky Derby (held the first Saturday in May), the most notable of which is the Blue Grass Stakes. The fall meet features several Breeders' Cup preps.

Keeneland takes pride in maintaining racing traditions; it was the last track in North America to broadcast race calls over its public-address system, not doing so until 1997. Most of the racing scenes of the 2003 movie Seabiscuit were shot at Keeneland because its appearance has changed relatively little in the last several decades.

Lately, however, Keeneland has adopted several innovations. The most significant of which is the reshaping of the main track and replacement of the dirt surface with the proprietary Polytrack surface over the summer of 2006. Rogers Beasley, current (2006) director of racing at Keeneland prefers to stress the track as selectively conservative.[1]

[edit] Keeneland Sales

In the thoroughbred racing world, Keeneland is equally famous for its other side—its sales operation. It holds four (previously five) annual horse auctions that attract buyers worldwide:

January - Horses of All Ages

This sale, as its name implies, features horses of all ages. Breeding "seasons"—the rights to breed one mare to a specified stallion in a given year—are also sold at this auction.

April - Two-Year-Olds in Training

This sale was added in 1993 in response to demand by owners wishing to buy horses in training.

July - Selected Yearling

This sale, conducted from 1943 to 2002, was frequently considered the most prestigious thoroughbred sale in the world. Numerous champions, including 11 Kentucky Derby winners, were sold here. The yearlings sold here were selected by pedigree, and had to pass a physical conformation test before being allowed into the sales ring. The July sale has been cancelled annually since 2003, and may be considered to be on "hiatus".

September - Yearling

This sale, the world's largest sale of yearlings, has been conducted at various times in the fall since 1944, and was permanently moved to September in 1960. Yearlings sold here need not meet any pedigree or conformation tests unless they are to be sold in "Selected Sessions." In recent years, the September sale has produced a Kentucky Derby winner, an Epsom Derby winner, and a U.S. Horse of the Year.

November - Breeding Stock

This sale features all horses capable of breeding, except for yearlings. Stallion "shares"—ownership interests in specific stallions—and seasons are also sold at this auction. Over the years, this has become the world's largest sale of thoroughbreds.

Keeneland also owns half interest in Turfway Park at Erlanger, Kentucky; casino and race track giant Harrah's Entertainment owns the other half interest. Through Turfway, Keeneland also owns a part of Kentucky Downs, near Franklin, Kentucky.

Keeneland is operated under the auspices of the Keeneland Association, which is comprised of many of the top names in the Kentucky Thoroughbred racing industry. The association's influence is felt throughout the industry and in Kentucky politics; in recent years, its opposition to allowing slot machines at race tracks in the Commonwealth has largely squelched the issue on the floor of the General Assembly, though competition from riverboat casinos (and Keeneland's "strange bedfellows" partnership with Harrah's at Turfway) is starting to reduce that opposition by the association's members. This ownership arrangement also partially explains Keeneland's fondness for tradition.

[edit] Physical attributes

The track has a one and one-sixteenth mile (1710 m) Polytrack oval and a seven and one-half furlong (1509 m) turf oval. As noted earlier, the Polytrack surface was added between the 2006 April and October meetings.