Keeneland interested in hosting Breeders' Cup

[Al Gobbi]

Keeneland Race Course is in the running to host the Breeders' Cup World Championships. Keeneland president and CEO Bill Thomason confirmed Thursday that the Lexington track has to be considered for the two-day fall championships as early as 2015.

Keeneland would produce "an event like the Breeders' Cup's never seen," Thomason said. "It's coming to the center of the horse capital of the world. We know it would be an amazing Breeders' Cup. The issue would be how would we manage having an event of the scope."

http://www.kentucky.com/2014/03/27/3164648/keeneland-going-for-breeders-cup.html#storylink=cpy

[taxicab]

The three tracks I would like to see host the Cup in the near future:
Keenland.
Belmont.
Woodbine.
All three would be solid choices.

[tanner12oz]

I would love to see ot but personally I dont know how the hell they pull it off

[Stillriledup]

Get rid of the rubber track and you might have a chance.

[Bennie]

Will be glad when they run somewhere else besides Santa Anita but for me, no poly tracks. When they do I only play the turf races and the Classic. pass on all the others.

[BIG49010]

It should be put on some sort of schedule East Belmont - Midwest Churchill - Wildcards - West Santa Anita

Wildcards - Arlington, Gulfstream, Woodbine, Keenland, Oaklawn, Others?

Quit playing to NBC, and do things for the real fans that want to see racing in there area of the world.

[alhattab]

Get rid of the rubber track and you might have a chance.

I don't know if they have any commitments or anything, but if they do not I expect Keeneland's 2014 Fall Meet to be run on dirt.

[olddaddy]

It should be put on some sort of schedule East Belmont - Midwest Churchill - Wildcards - West Santa Anita

Wildcards - Arlington, Gulfstream, Woodbine, Keenland, Oaklawn, Others?

Quit playing to NBC, and do things for the real fans that want to see racing in there area of the world.

Cant have it at Oaklawn, no grass.

[tanner12oz]

Does fairgrounds have anywhere near the capacity and facilities needed? Weather would be warmer...hurricane threat...cdi track

[BIG49010]

Cant have it at Oaklawn, no grass.

Maybe they put one in, never been there what is in the infield? Monmouth is another

[Silver florin]

Get rid of the rubber track and you might have a chance.

If the people at Keenland are really seriously thinking B.Cup then you can be sure that they already have made the decision to scrap the Polycrap and bring dirt back. :ThmbUp:

[duncan04]

If the people at Keenland are really seriously thinking B.Cup then you can be sure that they already have made the decision to scrap the Polycrap and bring dirt back. :ThmbUp:

Great if that is true, we can go back to the days of horseplayers complaining about the dirt track. :rolleyes: :bang:

[alhattab]

Great if that is true, we can go back to the days of horseplayers complaining about the dirt track. :rolleyes: :bang:

When Keeneland changed the surface, I also thought they corrected a quirk at the start of the clubhouse turn which was believed to have contributed to Keeneland's persistent speed bias. The linked article touches on it a bit but doesn't get into the implications/handicapping considerations resulting from the changes made to make the turns more symmetrical. I saw another article from Beyer written in 2003 which suggested that Keeneland's west-facing track may have contributed to keeping moisture toward the rail, which caused the rail to be firmer relative to the outside.

As an aside, if you search for Keeneland track bias you catch a lot of articles talking about the switch to Polytrack as the wave of the future...

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/33105/keeneland-going-with-polytrack-other-track-renovations-planned

[Tom]

BC people have no concern what the bettors want, as long as we send in the money. This event is not about us. Never has been, at least the last 10-15 years. Good idea to start, not so much anymore. The game would be better off without it.

But if you are going to have it, for God's sake not at KEE!

[lamboguy]

i like where they have it now. the weather is always the same, the area is beautiful, they got great places to eat and top hotels like The Langham Hotel in Pasadena. all that and a great cast of characters running around the whole place.

[JustRalph]

BC people have no concern what the bettors want, as long as we send in the money. This event is not about us. Never has been, at least the last 10-15 years. Good idea to start, not so much anymore. The game would be better off without it.

But if you are going to have it, for God's sake not at KEE!

Not on that track :eek: I can't pick a damn thing there. I think Keeneland is too small a venue

[Clocker]

Does fairgrounds have anywhere near the capacity and facilities needed?

Does FG ever actually run races on their turf course? :confused:

[tanner12oz]

Does FG ever actually run races on their turf course? :confused:

I thought I saw it once....might have been archival footage though

[Leparoux]

Cool idea but dirt is a must. Hopefully they will move to dirt sooner rather than later because of this.

[1st time lasix]

****Why not Tampa???? If a city you can host a superbowl...you can host a Breeder's Cup! Just build a better grandstand facility. Warm weather....plenty of hotel space...great turf course.

[therussmeister]

****Why not Tampa???? If a city you can host a superbowl...you can host a Breeder's Cup! Just build a better grandstand facility. Warm weather....plenty of hotel space...great turf course.
Great track announcer!

[olddaddy]

At this point evangeline would be fine , anyplace but santa anita.

[elhelmete]

I heard a report on Steve Byk's show today that horsemen are being required to vacate the Keeneland backside earlier than normal, and speculation is that it's possibly to accommodate a surface change.

[FrankieFigs]

Although I love Keeneland's atmosphere and ambiance, many changes would have to be made to accommodate a Breeder's Cup. Been to a couple of Bluegrass Stakes Days, and 25k is an absolute nightmare. It will be interesting to see what they do moving forward.

[fmolf]

Although I love Keeneland's atmosphere and ambiance, many changes would have to be made to accommodate a Breeder's Cup. Been to a couple of Bluegrass Stakes Days, and 25k is an absolute nightmare. It will be interesting to see what they do moving forward.
Agreed expanding the grandstand or doing anything on a large scale permanently might ruin the meet to meet ambiance...Perhaps temporary grandstands and light poles with temporary betting machines.Would love for it to come to Belmont and Monmouth or Lone star or Arlington if they go back to dirt. Gulfstream has a tiny area for the horseplayers now its all casino.

[Leparoux]

Although I love Keeneland's atmosphere and ambiance, many changes would have to be made to accommodate a Breeder's Cup. Been to a couple of Bluegrass Stakes Days, and 25k is an absolute nightmare. It will be interesting to see what they do moving forward.
:ThmbUp:

A lot of the regulars I know avoid BG day because of this problem.

[JustRalph]

The worse day I ever spent at Keeneland was Breeders Cup day. I can't imagine hosting it

[PIC6SIX]

Fairgrounds is out of the question. It is TOO small and could not accommodate the crowd in my opinion. Monmouth gets my vote over Belmont since BEL seems to be run down although being in the Big Apple is a draw in itself.

[BIG49010]

anyplace but santa anita, I have to agree :ThmbUp:

[Hoofless_Wonder]

Keeneland hosting a Breeder's Cup would be awesome. If you've ever been to the races there in the fall, you know what it's like.

BUT, they would have to limit attendance to 8 or 10 thousand, which in turn would translate into pretty high ticket prices. Matter of fact, once all the connections for the entrants were accounted for, that'd leave about 150 seats left over for General Admission.

[rastajenk]

It's a made-for-TV event anyway. There doesn't have to be a huge live crowd; in fact, it would be consistent with the notion prevalent around here that betting from home is the way of the future, anyway. I think it'd be a great idea. And the Breeders Cup organization itself would probably just as soon take in similar amounts in admissions from a limited number of really expensive seats as opposed to a greater number of less expensive seating.

[Stillriledup]

Get rid of the rubber track and you might have a chance.

Proof in the pudding that Keeneland officials not only read PA, but they listened to one of PA's most 'esteemed" posters. Mount Rushmore nominee to boot!