Keeneland

Keeneland officials have announced the launch of the Keeneland Digital Sales Ring, a stand-alone online auction platform accessible to buyers and sellers around the world at Keenelanddigital.com. Kicking off the new digital platform will be a Select Horses of Racing Age Sale scheduled for June 23. "The Keeneland Digital Sales Ring marks a significant milestone in our rich sales history and expands the realm of high-quality sales options Keeneland can deliver," Keeneland President and CEO Bill Thomason said. "This tool does not replace Keeneland's traditional live sales format but rather...

The Jockey Club, the Breeders' Cup and the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association have filed Amicus Curiae briefs supporting the rights of Churchill Downs and Keeneland to prohibit Lasix in races for 2-year-olds. The two Kentucky tracks are being sued by the Kentucky Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, which is seeking a temporary injunction that would stop the tracks from instituting so-called house rules that cover the Lasix ban. The three groups have asked the court to deny the injunction. The news of the filing of the briefs by the industry groups...

The July 8-12 meet at Keeneland Race Course got a step closer to reality Wednesday morning when the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC)'s race dates committee unanimously recommended a calendar shift agreement between Keeneland and Ellis Park. The full KHRC board still needs to approve the recommendation to make it official. But that vote is now considered a formality given that committee members passed the recommendation without any discussion, questions or opposition. The next scheduled KHRC meeting is June 16. Bob Elliston, Keeneland's vice president of racing and sales, told...

Keeneland will be a sponsor of prominent equine safety and welfare initiatives at the Retired Racehorse Project's Thoroughbred Makeover this year: the Arrival Exam and the Finale Jog. The Arrival Exam was instituted last year at the Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium, presented by Thoroughbred Charities of America, and required each horse to have proof of current vaccinations, vitals within a normal range, be scanned for a microchip that has been registered with The Jockey Club, pass a walking soundness exam and score a four or higher on the Henneke...

The man who plants a tree knows he may never enjoy its deepest shade. But he still gets much in return: above all, a length of perspective that can absorb success and failure with the same, dispassionate sense of their transience. You could ask no better mindset of a horseman. And, sure enough, a Thoroughbred could wish for no better environment than the farm that shares its site with--and owes its name to--the oldest arboreal nursery in Kentucky. True to its heritage, John Mayer presides over the mares and foals...

Keeneland has submitted a request to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission's Race Dates Committee for a five-day summer meet, to be held Wednesday, July 8 through Sunday, July 12. Under the current safety protocols, the summer meet would be held without spectators. The summer dates accommodate a portion of the 16-day spring meet that Keeneland was forced to cancel due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Keeneland also will share return to racing protocols with Gov. Andy Beshear's office and local health officials for their approval. To ensure the safety of staff,...

The Kentucky Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (KHBPA) filed a lawsuit in Franklin County Circuit Court May 15 to stop the planned Lasix phase-out in the state. Natalie Voss of the Paulick Report first reported the news on Thursday. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, Keeneland Association, and Churchill Downs, Inc., are the defendants. "The KHBPA and its members will be harmed if Keeneland's and Churchill's illegal acts are allowed to go forward, as it will impact the conduct of races that horses owned and trained by its members may participate...

Major Fed (Ghostzapper), second in the GII Risen Star S. and fourth after a slow start in the GII Louisiana Derby, completed his last major workout on Saturday morning at Churchill Downs with a half-mile move in :51.40 (16/16) prior to taking aim at next Saturday's GIII Matt Winn S. Meanwhile, 72 miles east of Churchill Downs, unbeaten GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity winner Maxfield (Street Sense) worked a swift half-mile in :47.20 (3/22) at Keeneland. The Matt Winn is worth 50-20-10-5 points to the top four finishers on the Road...

Selling Thoroughbred horses online has never quite caught on in the U.S. as buyers and their advisors are obviously reluctant to purchase a horse they cannot examine in person. But a West Virginia-based auction company is forging ahead with an ambitious online sale later this month, its owners confident that Thoroughbred racing is ready to accept the online marketplace. "In 2000, if you asked me if this is going to work I would have said no," said Tim Jennings, who runs ThoroughbredAuctions.com with his wife, Cathy. "I just didn't think...

Keeneland Race Course will be seeking a short summer race meet after losing its spring season to COVID-19 closure. Yet management at the Lexington track is trying to be mindful that such a move would have a ripple effect not only on Ellis Park, which traditionally has the Kentucky circuit all to itself during that time frame, but also the horse populations and stakes programs at Saratoga and Del Mar, the bi-coastal heavyweights that dominate American racing in the mid-July through Labor Day window. "We're looking to run an abbreviated...

by T.D. Thornton & Bill Finley Even before their stabling areas officially begin readmitting horses next week, Churchill Downs and Keeneland are already working in tandem to provide on-site COVID-19 testing of backstretch workers and licensed personnel who will be involved when racing resumes at Churchill May 16. A negative result will be required to gain access to both racetracks. The mandate of swab testing for all Kentucky racetrack personnel exceeds the scope of recommendations published May 7 by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA). Bob Elliston, Keeneland's vice president...

The Legislative Action Committee of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) attracted voluntary contributions in 2019 of $750,000, the highest amount contributed to the campaign since the pre-recession year of 2008. The NTRA LAC is a program that supports the breeding and racing industry's federal legislative efforts in Washington, D.C. More than 5,000 individuals and farms support the program and the funds are raised primarily through the NTRA's voluntary check-off program supported by buyers and consignors at Thoroughbred auctions equal to one-quarter of one percent of the prices of horses...