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Temporary structures at Keeneland will provide extra seating and dining areas when the Breeders’ Cup crowds arrive for races Oct. 30 and 31. | Photo furnished by Keeneland Race Course
Preparing Lexington’s historic racetrack for an event of this scale – which happens to take place right on the heels of September’s yearling sales and October’s annual fall meet – brought with it several logistical challenges, some of which are shared among any of facility that has hosted previous installments of the event, and some unique to Keeneland itself. The unique centered on how to accommodate a substantial two-day crowd – a crowd that topped 98,000 last year at Santa Anita Park in California – in a space considerably smaller most other previous Breeders’ Cup venues.
To meet its challenges, Keeneland announced it would cap general admission attendance and construct several temporary reserved-seat facilities, including tents that will house individual and corporate suites, grandstand boxes and new dining and hospitality areas.
For the past 18 months, the track has worked with a team comprising of in-house divisions, Breeders’ Cup officials, and operations management, transportation and catering companies from across the country. By the time the first championship race is run, the most noticeable Breeders’ Cup change at Keeneland will be a temporary infrastructure that will transform the look of the National Historic Landmark track.
The nucleus of that infrastructure will be a “village” of five luxury structures located on the final turn at the top of the stretch:
• Two Trackside Chalets – one two-stories and the other the first triple-decker structure of its kind to be used at a sporting event in North America – housing a total of 35 private suites.
• Two Club Lawn Chalets with seating and dining for 500.
• The Maker’s Mark Bourbon Lounge, a 45,000-square-foot facility hosting 3,200 people.
These and other new temporary facilities will accommodate 10,000 fans, expanding Keeneland’s reserved seating capacity for Breeders’ Cup from about 9,000 for normal racing meets to about 21,000. General admission has been capped at 10,000 in an effort to create a more enjoyable experience for all ticketholders.
Keeneland also has made several permanent improvements in preparation for Breeders’ Cup, including an enlarged horse path in front of the paddock; an additional paddock saddling ring; transplanting four mature oak trees – the largest standing nearly 40 feet tall and weighing 30,000 pounds – in the paddock; resodding the paddock and repaving the paddock garden area; renovations to the training track and more.
At the time of printing, a handful of general admission tickets for Friday’s race were still available at www.breederscup.com, as well as tickets for both days for “The Hill,” a special, tailgating style section located outside of the track on the lawn near Keeneland’s Keene Entertainment Center and featuring jumbo TVs, food trucks and a premium bar. cc