Keeneland will not cap attendance at fall meet

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington will be open at full capacity for its upcoming fall meet in October, the track announced on Thursday.

The announcement, which was not unexpected given that Kentucky no longer has pandemic-related restrictions in place, will be welcome news to Kentucky racing fans, who have not been able to attend a Keeneland meet without restrictions since the fall of 2019. The fall meet is scheduled to run from Oct. 8-30 this year.

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“Keeneland is thrilled to welcome greater numbers of fans back to the track for what promises to be a terrific fall meet,” said Shannon Arvin, Keeneland’s president and chief executive. “We look forward to being together again as a community and watching great Thoroughbred racing in this beautiful surrounding.”

Though Keeneland allowed fans ontrack for its spring meet this year, attendance was capped at 10,000, and it did not make its increasingly popular tailgate area available. In addition, many of its concessions were closed in order to limit interactions between customers and staff.

Keeneland cautioned that its policy to allow full capacity in October could be changed if new national or local guidelines are issued.