"If you've been to Keeneland then the track's gift shop will seem familiar, even the first time you see it. The fan-shaped windows, the shop's name in brass letters over the doors, the dark green - Keeneland green - floor all make the shop appear very much a part of the historic racetrack. As Assistant Manager Amber Cundiff describes the shop, it "reflects the traditional aspects of Keeneland."
The shop is full of little bits and pieces of Keeneland: prints of paintings of the grounds by Peter Williams, the distinctive dark green entrance posts as Christmas ornaments, glassware etched with the signature "K," scarves, ties, caps, shirts with the familiar Keeneland single horse logo, books and CDs about Keeneland.
Gift shop items range from the expensive furs, fine jewelry, and leather jackets to easily affordable postcards, coffee mugs, keychains and pencils. During racing meets, souvenir items account for the most items sold: postcards, pens and pencils, T-shirts, sweatshirts, and caps, all with the Keeneland logo. Higher-priced items, such as horses in bronze, are best-sellers during the horse sales.
Surprisingly, the shop sells "a lot of apparel year-round," said Cundiff. Some apparel and accessories are weather-driven, such as umbrellas and wind/water-resistant jackets and pullovers on cold or rainy days, but most apparel items are bought for gifts or because they appeal to the buyers. Vineyard Vines and Barbour are the main brands carried. Seeing the range of colors available in caps, polo and dress shirts, sweaters, ties, scarves, and jackets for men, women, and children proves the demand here for clothes, most of which have a horse or Keeneland motif.
The 2,800-square-foot shop opened in this location in June 2005. The display fixtures were custom-built, with some moveable display units. If the store seems too crowded, other customers won't come in, so three portable kiosks operate outside during racing meets, offering disposable cameras, film, postcards, T-shirts, and other very popular items. Best Bets, a boutique of sale items next to the Sports Bar, is also open only during the racing meets. Keeneland merchandise is also sold year-round at Joseph-Beth Booksellers and the gift shops at Bluegrass Airport, the Embassy Suites, and the Marriott.
The shop carries a nice selection of Christmas ornaments, priced from $6 to $50. Cundiff said that Christmas items sell year-round. The shop's assortment of children's items includes collectible Breyer horses, stuffed animals, stick ponies and clothes.
Appealing to both children and adults is the collection of Painted Ponies, which are reminiscent of the decorated horses created a few years ago for Lexington's Horse Mania. Priced from $24 to $45, these horses are only a few inches tall, but they are brightly colored, some with mosaic designs.
Other items which sell well include the DVD of Keeneland ($9.95), pillows with horse designs (priced from $40 to $525), and costume and fine jewelry (a few dollars up to $20,000). For entertaining, the shop carries glassware of various types, julep cups, trays, china, and bar items.
Keeneland's gift shop was started by Norma Greely, who retired when her husband William Greely retired as president of Keeneland. Jolene Dawkins, who worked in retail for McAlpin's and Mercantile Stores, has been director of gift shop operations since 2000. Dawkins supervises eight full-time employees and up to 40 seasonal workers in the shop, plus warehouse and online operations.
Dawkins said that organizing the shop's Web site has been "the most difficult" part of her job because "we have so many products and we want the customers, when they log on, to feel like they've walked into the store." She's justifiably proud that "our sales on the Web site have tripled in the last year."
Dawkins has also worked hard to bring a new merchandise category to the gift shop this year: a line of skin care products and fragrances exclusive to Keeneland. Created by the Lady Primrose Company, the items are packaged in containers with the Keeneland logo. Legacy, the cologne for men, has notes of pine, fir, and sandalwood. Hedge Blossoms, for women, invokes the scent of flowers blooming in the hedges around Keeneland.
Dawkins and her staff strive to offer Keeneland's visitors "what they don't see elsewhere." The best part of her job, she added, is "dealing with so many lovely people who are horse enthusiasts, being able to satisfy their needs and wants."
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