Lexington

Growing up near Third Street in Lexington, Ron Mack spent much of his childhood playing football with friends on what was once the infield of the Kentucky Association racetrack, but he didn't realize that they were throwing a football on hallowed ground until years later. After playing football for the University of Kentucky and then building a career in commercial banking in Atlanta, Mack returned to Lexington in 2014 and began digging into the history of horse racing and the Kentucky Association. What Mack learned through his research led to...

Keeneland began its official countdown to this year's Breeders' Cup at Tandy Park in Lexington Thursday at a ceremony attended by Breeders' Cup President and CEO Drew Fleming, Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton, Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin, Breeders' Cup Festival Chair Kip Cornett, and GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic winning trainer Brad Cox. "We're excited to officially begin our countdown to the 39th running of the Breeders' Cup World Championships this fall in our hometown of Lexington," said Fleming. "We're so grateful to work alongside leaders like Mayor Gorton,...

The Commonwealth Racing Challenge kicks off Friday, Apr. 8 with the opening of the Keeneland spring race meet. The new initiative is designed to encourage Kentucky Equine Education Project (KEEP) members to visit all of Kentucky's racetracks during the 2022 Kentucky horse racing circuit. KEEP members who successfully scan a unique QR code and tag KEEP in a social media post at each of the six participating Kentucky racetracks during their 2022 racing meets will be entered to win four VIP tickets the Breeders' Cup World Championships at Keeneland Nov....

The 2022 annual conference of the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) will be held Apr. 11-14 in Lexington at the Lexington Griffin Gate Marriott. The conference will focus on the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA), specifically on the issues and details surrounding implementation, and on the expanded responsibility of many ARCI members involving regulation of sports betting. The annual ARCI conference--now in its 88th iteration--attracts senior racing regulatory personnel from across North America as well as racing industry leaders representing the Thoroughbred, Standardbred, and Quarter Horse sectors, in...

LEXINGTON, KY--The majority of the trophies that were stolen just over a month ago from trainer Wesley Ward's home in Versailles, Kentucky have been recovered. According to the Versailles Police Department's Assistant Chief Rob Young, one individual was charged with receiving stolen property and is now in custody. On the morning of Feb. 8, 2022, a thief walked off with 14 trophies, including many that Ward received from the Royal Ascot meet, but they did not take any other valuables from the home such as electronics and several other trophies...

A former SEC running back and a Hall of Fame basketball player for the University of Kentucky, Allen and Leslie Carter are the sort of couple that doesn't do anything halfway as their myriad of  accomplishments have been earned through hard work, attentiveness and a passion for what they do. So it probably won't be long before this duo is making headlines in the racing industry because recently, they added the title of 'Thoroughbred breeder' to their list of many life works. South Carolina native Allen Carter moved to the...

A fundraising event to help benefit the families affected by last weekend's devastating Western Kentucky tornado will take place at Frank & Dino's restaurant in Lexington on Sunday, Jan. 2. Complimentary food and drinks will be served between 12 p.m. and 8 p.m. at the popular Italian eatery. WLKY reported Thursday that 16 people, down from a high of 122, are still missing and that the death toll has risen to 76 Kentuckians. More than 1,000 homes and buildings have been destroyed and there are approximately still 3,000 power outages....

Urban parks are well-loved destinations in America's most developed and highly-populated cities. Of course Central Park is the first that comes to mind, as well as perhaps Lincoln Park in Chicago or Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. These beautifully-designed pieces of landscape architecture serve as gathering places for the city's community and are often stopping points for those visiting a bustling metropolis. In a few years Lexington, Kentucky--with a population of less than 400,000--will get a state-of-the-art park of its own in the heart of downtown. Ground is set...

   For those who were unable to travel to Kentucky last year and attend the Keeneland sales, much has changed in downtown Lexington thanks in large part to the completion of the City Center. The residential, commercial and retail project has been in the works for years and was finally completed early in 2020. What was a hive of activity in its first few months of operation quickly became a desolate landscape with the onset of the pandemic. But today, as more and more travelers return to Lexington, the City...

Keeneland has completed construction of six new barns and other enhancements at The Thoroughbred Center (TTC), its 245-acre, year-round training facility on Paris Pike on the northeast side of Lexington. The six new barns contain a total of 240 stalls and feature: • Wider shedrows to accommodate safe winter training for horses housed year-round; • Interior and exterior wash stalls; • Dedicated interior feed rooms along with dedicated hay/bedding storage; • Office tack rooms for trainers; and • A stall layout design that maximizes lighting and airflow with spacious windows...

For a farm so steeped in heritage, and so properly respectful of it, there's no mistaking the vitality, the aversion to complacency, animating Mill Ridge with a sixth generation now at the reins. Back in April the Bell family grieved farm founder Alice Headley Chandler, a revered matriarch not just around their own hearth but among the whole Bluegrass community. But their loss, while poignantly refreshing their gratitude and sense of privilege, could only reinforce an engrained determination that her legacy be honored by all the ambition that had characterised...

Friends of jockey Declan Cannon are organizing an auction to raise funds for him while he is out of action following a spill Sept. 13 at Indiana Grand in which he fractured vertebrae. The fundraiser will take place this Friday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. at McCarthy's Irish bar in Lexington. "Declan is a very popular jockey from Ireland with a very young family. Obviously being out of action has severely cut down his income. He is expected to be out of action up to six months," said Hunter Valley...