Keeneland

The upcoming Keeneland Spring Meet, to be held April 2-23, will allow a limited number of spectators. Pre-sold ticket packages will be available Monday, Mar. 1, and will include dining, reserved grandstand seating, and general admission. Race participants, sponsors, box holders, and Club members will also be given limited access. "The enthusiasm and loyalty of our fans are what make Keeneland so special," said Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin. "We have missed their presence on race days and we are excited to welcome them, albeit in limited number, back...

In his early days in the Thoroughbred business, Hanzly Albina served the Foustok family's Buckram Oak Farm as assistant farm manager and later managed Four Roses Thoroughbreds for the same operation. "As a young person in the business, you don't get to do a lot, but you get to study a lot," Albina recollects. The horseman is now applying that and other knowledge he's acquired over the years as an advisor to Maurice and Samantha Regan's Newtown Anner Stud, the breeders of 'TDN Rising Star' and GII Rachel Alexandra S....

Keeneland announced that Central Kentucky horseman and bloodstock adviser Gatewood Bell has been named Vice President of Racing at the Lexington oval and will assume duties later this month. Bell in 2011 founded Cromwell Bloodstock, a full-service bloodstock agency and consulting firm named after a company owned by his grandfather, John A. Bell, and has served as its president for the past decade. Bell, under the Cromwell Bloodstock and Hat Creek Racing banners, purchased several significant runners, including Grade I/Group 1 winners Undrafted, Hootenanny, Mastery and Con Te Partiro. Bell...

Not too long ago, Lance Armstrong was revered as an American hero. The winner of seven straight Tour de France titles, Armstrong brought the sport of cycling into the mainstream and the story of his unprecedented success after recovering from testicular cancer inspired athletes everywhere. But, as the public later found out, it was all built on a lie. Armstrong was a cheater, and his extensive involvement in an explosive doping scandal tarnished his legacy forever, stripping him of nearly all of his fraudulently-gained athletic accomplishments. The revelations from that...

Seven mixed sales for 2021 have been scheduled by Keeneland Digital Sales Ring, Keeneland's virtual stand-alone auction platform, with the first sale set to take place Tuesday, Mar. 23. The remainder of the 2021 digital sales will occur May 25, June 29, July 27, Aug. 31, Oct. 26, and Dec. 14, with entries opening anywhere from approximately two to four weeks prior, depending on the sale. Catalogues will be live five days before each sale. "We are excited to announce the 2021 schedule for the Keeneland Digital Sales Ring, which...

It's no secret the horse industry is struggling. But like any good optimist, I'm always open to new ideas. I recently read Simon Sinek's book, Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action. The oversimplified concept of the book is how understanding your 'why' can contribute to your success. This is my 'why' I chose a career in horse racing. I love horses. From the unbelievable softness of a newborn foal to the rippling musculature of a stallion, they are majestic. As an agent, breeder and owner,...

Ticket sales for the 2021 Breeders' Cup World Championships, to be held at Del Mar Friday and Saturday, Nov. 5 and 6, are being delayed "until we have clarity on the ever-changing landscape," Drew Fleming, the chief executive officer of Breeders' Cup Limited, said in an email distributed Monday afternoon. "With the COVID-19 vaccine now being rolled out across the country and internationally, we at the Breeders' Cup remain optimistic for the year ahead, and specifically for the 2021 World Championships," the email read, in part. "We are working closely...

On a monumental day in her personal life, star bloodstock agent Liz Crow joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland Wednesday for an in-depth discussion. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Crow talked about her pride in the enormous success of her now dual-champion $100,000 purchase Monomoy Girl (Tapizar), the status of the sale market after a tumultuous 2020, what traits she looks for when buying horses and much more. "She's taken us on an incredible ride to so many different racetracks and...

Keeneland will host an April Horses of Racing Age Sale at the start of GI Kentucky Derby week on Monday, Apr. 26. The sale will be an integrated event, with live auctioneers at Keeneland, and horses presented for sale both physically at Keeneland as well as at off-site locations at the choice of the sellers and consignors. Internet bidding will also be offered. "Keeneland is excited to have the April Sale to showcase horses in training during the racing season," Keeneland President, CEO and Interim Head of Sales Shannon Arvin...

Keeneland will present 18 stakes, featuring the 97th running of the $800,000 GII Toyota Blue Grass S. and the 84th running of the $400,000 GI Central Bank Ashland S., worth a total of $4.1 million during its 2021 Spring Meet from Apr. 2-23. Post time for the first race during the 15-day season will be 1:05 p.m. ET. Keeneland will be closed Easter Sunday, Apr. 4. "Keeneland is excited to welcome racing back to the Bluegrass in April," Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin said. "With the cancellation of last...

Members of the Thoroughbred Safety Coalition Steering Committee voted unanimously to adopt four new medical and operational reforms to further reduce the use of medication in racing, enhance consistency across racing jurisdictions and promote transparency, according to a press release from the organization Monday. The Thoroughbred Safety Coalition is an industry-led effort to advance safety measures in Thoroughbred racing. "These new reforms set the stage for another productive year of advancing meaningful changes to strengthen the culture of safety in thoroughbred racing," said the release. The following recommended reforms have...

As a second-generation horse trainer and Kentuckian, my entire life has been spent in Thoroughbred racing. I've seen Kentucky racing at its finest, and I've seen how quickly out-of-state competition can render us increasingly irrelevant. Right now Kentucky is at the top. But it doesn't have to stay that way. I currently have 50 employees and do business with more than 100 vendors in Kentucky alone. Without Historical Horse Racing (HHR) revenue supplementing the purses for which our horses compete, many of those jobs will have to leave the state,...