Proposal has Keeneland running longer meet next year

Keeneland Racecourse will run for more than four full weeks in the fall of 2015 to accommodate the two-day Breeders’ Cup event, according to a proposed calendar distributed by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission in advance of a dates committee meeting scheduled for Tuesday.

Under the proposed schedule, Keeneland will have 22 live racing days in the fall, stretching from Oct. 2 to Oct. 31, at least five days longer than the track’s usual fall meet allotment of 16 or 17 days. The Breeders’ Cup is scheduled for Oct. 30-31, a Friday and Saturday, at the track. Live racing will be held on the Wednesday and Thursday prior to the event, according to the schedule.

Churchill Downs, which typically starts its fall meet on the last weekend in October, will open on the Sunday following the Breeders’ Cup, on Nov. 1, according to the calendar.

Because of the stature of the Breeders’ Cup, Keeneland was widely expected to work out a deal with Churchill that would allow Keeneland to run through the Breeders’ Cup dates, with no overlap between the two tracks. It had not been clear whether Keeneland would continue to run five-day weeks in the lead-up to the Breeders’ Cup.

The racing commission’s dates committee is likely to approve the proposal at its Tuesday meeting and forward its recommendations to the full commission.