Owners, breeders allowed at Keeneland for Breeders' Cup
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Owners and breeders of horses competing in the Breeders’ Cup will be allowed on the grounds of Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington during the two-day event on Nov. 6-7, Breeders’ Cup officials confirmed on Tuesday.
According to Jim Gluckson, a spokesman for the Breeders’ Cup, each horse will be assigned six complimentary seats on behalf of its owners for each day of the event, to be distributed by the ownership group. However, Gluckson also said that Breeders’ Cup will “work individually with owners to see if we can accommodate guests beyond that number.”
The breeder of each horse will be allotted four seats for the day the horse is entered, Gluckson said.
The 14 Breeders’ Cup races held over the two days are typically contested by more than 150 horses, and many of those horses have large ownership groups. At a bare minimum, that means that Breeders’ Cup will allow more than 1,000 representatives of owners and breeders on the grounds each day.
“Regardless of the number of attendees, strict safety protocols will be enforced to ensure the health and wellness of all on-site,” Gluckson said, in an e-mailed response to questions.
Breeders’ Cup announced in mid-September that the event would be held spectator-free, but the organization did not make it clear at that time whether owners and other individuals connected to the races could attend. On Saturday, the organization released a list of coronavirus protocols that appeared to indicate that owners and other individuals would be given access to the grounds.
Gluckson said that no other individuals other than “essential personnel and participants” would be allowed on the grounds for the event. He said those personnel and participants included “those associated with a competing horse, including owners, breeders, jockeys, and trainers.” Essential personnel, Gluckson said, are “event staff, including Breeders’ Cup and Keeneland executives and associates, media, and a limited number of corporate partners.”
During the recently concluded Keeneland fall meet, the track allowed owners, box-seat holders, and sponsors to attend the races. The track barred all other spectators from attending.
According to the protocols, all persons granted on-site access will be required to wear a face covering at all times and “may only remove to actively eat or drink.” The protocols note that the Keeneland grandstand is 47,000 square feet, “allowing for ample physically [sic] distancing for the limited number of people who will be on site.” The protocols state that physical distancing will be “strictly enforced.”
In addition, the protocols state that all seating will be assigned, and that Breeders’ Cup will use a “virtual badge” app to maintain records allowing for contact tracing. Dining options will be “limited to plated and individually wrapped food items and beverages.”
Jockeys who are planning to ride in the event will need to test negative for the COVID-19 virus prior by Nov. 4, according to the protocols. Jockeys who are currently riding in Kentucky will need to test negative on Nov. 4, while out-of-state and international jockeys will need to test negative in their current racing jurisdictions 72 hours prior to arrival in Lexington before getting tested again at Keeneland on Nov. 4, Breeders’ Cup said.
Kentucky is in the midst of a resurgence of the COVID-19 virus, with the state setting records two weeks in a row for the number of new positives. While the Breeders’ Cup event would normally be accompanied by a number of promotional events in the lead-up to the races, most have been canceled because of the virus.
Central Kentucky has one of the most densely concentrated horse-racing fan bases in the country. At the time that Breeders’ Cup announced that the event would be “spectator-free,” the organization also awarded the 2022 Breeders’ Cup to Keeneland.
“We owe it to the community to come back to Keeneland as soon as possible,” said Drew Fleming, the chief executive officer of Breeders’ Cup, in an interview after the announcement.