Attendance will be capped at 45,000 for 2022 Breeders' Cup at Keeneland
Attendance for each day of the two-day Breeders’ Cup event scheduled for Nov. 4 and 5 at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington will be capped at 45,000, and tickets to a variety of permanent and temporary seating areas will go on sale beginning May 9, Breeders’ Cup and Keeneland announced on Thursday.
The 2022 event will be the second time that Keeneland has hosted the Breeders’ Cup in the past three years, but the 2020 event was held with limited attendance due to the coronavirus pandemic. Because of the restrictions on attendance, Breeders’ Cup awarded Keeneland the 2022 event as well.
Although ticketholders received refunds in 2020, customers who purchased tickets that year will have first chance this year to buy “the same or similar seats as they had previously,” the announcement said.
When the event was first held at Keeneland in 2015, there was a similar cap on attendance. In the release, Keeneland and Breeders’ Cup said that the cap was “in accordance with Breeders’ Cup’s longstanding commitment to delivering a curated and intimate fan experience, and to ensure maximum safety and comfort.” Attendance at Breeders’ Cup events held at tracks with a similar footprint to Keeneland, such as Del Mar, has also been capped.
As in 2015, Breeders’ Cup and Keeneland will spend $10.5 million to erect a handful of temporary seating areas this year at the track, including several full-service lounges surrounding the racetrack. The temporary areas will provide 7,500 “premium dining seats” and 1,800 temporary box seats, the announcement said.
Tickets will go on sale at noon on May 9. No tickets will be sold on the days of the event.