Keeneland applies to race five days in July

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Ky., has applied for five days of live racing, spectator-free, from July 8-12, with the Blue Grass Stakes scheduled for July 11, the track announced late Friday.

The five-day meet would concentrate 10 stakes over three days of racing, including the major stakes the track would have run if its spring meet had not been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In a press release, Keeneland said it planned to hold the Blue Grass Stakes on July 11 with five supporting stakes, including the Grade 1 Ashland, the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley, and the Grade 1 Madison Stakes.

“We are excited about the return of racing to Keeneland and know this will be welcome news for our horsemen, fans, and the Central Kentucky community,” said Bill Thomason, president of the track, in a release. “This purse money represents significant income for horsemen, and while the races will be spectator-free, the Keeneland team is hard at work on creative ways to involve fans watching at home and to enhance our simulcast product for handicappers.”

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The Keeneland race meet is extremely popular in Lexington and in surrounding cities. The track uses a significant portion of its ontrack revenues from betting, ticketing, and food and beverage to fund outsized purses at the meet. In recent years, revenues from a casino co-owned with a harness track in downtown Lexington also has generated money for Keeneland’s purses. That casino is currently closed, with no short-term opening in sight.

The Blue Grass Stakes has been designated as a points-earning race for eligibility for the rescheduled Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5, with 100 points awarded to the winner. In any year, that has been more than enough to qualify for the Kentucky Derby field.

Racing dates in July have already been awarded to Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky., but the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has indicated that it will modify racing dates to satisfy agreements between racetracks because of the COVID-19 disruption. Ellis Park has already given up its early September dates to Churchill so that the Derby and its lead-up cards can be held, under an agreement that requires Churchill to make Ellis whole on the money the track is giving up for losing those dates.

Keeneland’s vice president of racing and sales, Bob Elliston, has said that the track was working on a similar arrangement with Ellis for the July dates that Keeneland was seeking.