Keeneland Officially Hosting Breeders’ Cup
The Breeders’ Cup is a horse racing world championship. It consists of 13 races, and purses totaling $26 million.
Governor Beshear says 167 Kentucky bred horses have won Breeders’ Cup races, the most of any state.
Churchill Downs has hosted the Breeders’ Cup 8 times. This will be Keeneland’s first.
Keeneland doesn’t have the seating capacity of Churchill.
"For a long time I don’t think Keeneland really ever considered itself a viable venue, but a lot has changed. A lot of improvements have been made, and they’re very excited to, for instance in 1984 the temporary seating that exists today just didn’t exist back then," said Breeders’ Cup Chairman Bill Farish.
Keeneland plans to add 7,000 temporary seats for the Breeders’ Cup. Keeneland’s CEO says they’ve been trying to host the event for decades. Bill Thomason says the Breeders’ Cup is focused on the fan experience and not just sheer numbers.
"They are a world class championship event. They’re very serious about their patron experience, growing the patron experience across the country, and engaging their fans in horse racing in a very unique way. That’s what we do every day," said Keeneland CEO Bill Thomason.
Keeneland’s in the middle of switching its surface from polytrack to dirt. The Breeders’ Cup Chairman says the surface did not play a factor in their decision.
"We have never, on the Breeders’ cup side of things, let the track surface enter into whether a site gets a Breeders’ Cup, or not," said Bill Farish.
Governor Beshear says the event will bring Lexington millions of dollars, and the world will be blown away.
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