Keeneland

It was a special day Wednesday for everyone who works on the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland, as the crew celebrated its 50th episode of the industry-leading weekly podcast. In a tribute to the show's creator, the four hosts welcomed producer Patty Wolfe as the Green Group Guest of the Week to discuss her original vision for the Writers' Room, how it has evolved since then and how she'd like to see it develop in the future. "I'm a big podcast person and there's one podcast that I love,...

Keeneland and Fasig-Tipton released a list of safety protocols, which include the requirement for many participants to receive a negative COVID-19 test, Monday ahead of the two companies' upcoming yearling sales. "Keeneland and Fasig-Tipton are committed to providing the safest environment possible for both horses and humans on our grounds during the September sales," Keeneland President and CEO Bill Thomason and Fasig-Tipton President Boyd T. Browning, Jr. said in a joint statement. "Given the proximity of our two sales in terms of both dates and locations, it is important that...

Keeneland will be the focus of Thoroughbred racing this autumn when the track presents 18 stakes worth a total of $4.775 million during its 2020 Fall Meet, to be held Oct. 2-24 ahead of the 37th Breeders' Cup World Championships at Keeneland on Nov. 6-7. The prestigious Fall Stars Weekend opens the 17-day season, which also features the repositioning of the GII Hagyard Fayette to join the GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup on the second Saturday of the meet and serve as a prep for the GI Breeders' Cup...

The catalog for the world-renowned Keeneland September Yearling Sale, to be held Sept. 13-25, is now online and features 4,272 offerings. Book 1, which features 448 yearlings, will run Sept. 13 and 14 with each season beginning at noon, followed by a dark day Sept. 15. Selling resumes Sept. 16 with the first of two Book 2 sessions, beginning at 10 a.m. Books 3-6 will each be comprised of two sessions, also beginning at 10 a.m. Keeneland has enhanced its online catalog for buyers and sellers for the 2020 September...

William and Donna Shively's Dixiana Farm is the new sponsor for the $500,000 GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup, one of this country's most prestigious races for 3-year-old turf fillies. The QE II Challenge Cup Presented by Dixiana will be held on the second Saturday of Keeneland's fall meet Oct. 10. "Keeneland is pleased that Dixiana has become the sponsor of the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup," Keeneland President and CEO Bill Thomason said. "Dixiana has been a valued corporate partner through its sponsorship of other stakes at Keeneland, and...

In just five weeks, the annual Keeneland September Yearling Sale will be underway. Despite unprecedented challenges and ongoing uncertainty, it will mark the start of a marathon of events for Keeneland and its future President and CEO Shannon Arvin. "We've got a long fall," said Arvin, who now serves as Interim Head of Sales and will be officially named President-elect on September 1. "We've got the September Sale, the October race meet, the Breeders' Cup that we're so excited about and then we've got the November Breeding Stock sale to...

Denied in the G2 Railway S. at The Curragh July 18, Lucky Vega (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) returned to the same course and six-furlong strip on Sunday to dominate a competitive renewal of the G1 Keeneland Phoenix S. Despite the presence of four group-winning colts Steel Bull (Ire) (Clodovil {Ire}), The Lir Jet (Ire) (Prince of Lir {Ire}), Ventura Tormenta (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) and Laws of Indices (Ire) (Power {GB}), the market spoke mainly for Lucky Vega who was supported into 4-1 second favouritism and also Ballydoyle's maiden St...

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this weekend running at Niigata and Sapporo Racecourses: Saturday, August 8, 2020 1st-NII, ¥9,680,000 ($92k), Maiden, 2yo, 1600mT KITTEN'S WALTZ (f, 2, Air Force Blue--Dances With Kitten, by Kitten's Joy) was bet down to 6-1 for her 1400-meter debut at Hanshin July 18 and...

Projected autumn purse levels for maiden special weight races on the Kentucky circuit were revealed during a video meeting of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund (KTDF) advisory committee on Tuesday. Ben Huffman, director of racing at Churchill Downs, said, "We're going to have two [MSW] purses. We're going to supercharge [GI Kentucky] Derby week, like we've been doing. And that maiden purse Derby week is going to be $97,000. The remaining nine days are going to be $75,000." Churchill had closed out its spring/summer season at the $79,000 level for...

Middleham Park Racing's G2 Prix Robert Papin winner Ventura Tormenta (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) was one of four supplementary entries on Tuesday to Sunday's G1 Keeneland Phoenix S. at The Curragh. He was joined, as expected, by G3 Molecomb S. winner Steel Bull (Ire) (Clodovil {Ire}) as well as the G2 Airlie Stud S. winner Aloha Star (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) and the Aidan O'Brien-trained winner Giorgio Vasari (Ire) (Air Force Blue). Ventura Tormenta will be re-opposing The Lir Jet (Ire) (Prince Of Lir {Ire}), who he beat by a head in...

This is the fourth installment in a series highlighting racetrack photographers. Around 1960, a funeral director decided he'd had enough of the cold Chicago winters, so he uprooted his family to Phoenix to ply his trade in a warmer clime. Upon arrival, Jack Coady, Sr. learned his Illinois mortician's certification didn't match Arizona's requirements, so he set out to look for another line of work. He liked photography and caught on with the Arizona Republic newspaper. On one of his very first assignments, he was sent to shoot the races...

A fund has been established for the benefit of the children of Katherine McKee, who died July 27 after a three-year battle with melanoma. She was 40 years old. McKee had worked at Keeneland for 15 years, most recently serving as the director of racing administration, where she was the company's primary contact for horsemen. "For nearly three years, Katherine has battled advanced melanoma defying odds from the beginning," said Keeneland President and CEO Bill Thomason in a statement sent to Keeneland staff and trainers. "Besides her unwavering grace, commitment...