August – Keeneland Race
Posted on 03. Aug, 2011 by admin in What’s on
Some call it America’s Ascot, but this being America, it’s not half as plummy nor aristocratic as the flagship British racing event.
Sure, people dress up at Keeneland, it is after all the thoroughbred racing Mecca for the US – it’s always voted the No 1 track. Some visitors dress smartly, most casually, and the odd person rather ludicrously – but Keeneland is far more democratic, and way more family friendly than its royal counterpart (with far fewer silly hats, too).
Like Ascot, there’s the fabled car park picnics, but it’s less the posh hampers with shampers round the back of the Bentley or Range Rover than fun barbecues and Budweiser at Keeneland. Well, it’s hardly a car park – the cars sit on the rolling lush bluegrass hills over the 1,000-acre site.
Tickets are easier to buy, too and often available on the day of the prime race, if you are willing to take a gamble on not seeing such hallowed events as the Bluegrass Stakes.
What’s more, tickets are cheaper than the staple £50 ticket for Ascot, just $8 to reserve a grandstand seat for some meets, rising to $25 for the Bluegrass Stakes. Hurry though, such seat applications need to be in by August 1, dining applications in July. General admission at Keeneland is just $5, with children under 12 allowed in free – perhaps more than other factor making it a more family-friendly event.
During my visit to the Keeneland races, I noticed more families and children than ever seen at all my racetrack visits in the UK (OK, four so far). It’s relaxed and fun.
So why the Ascot of America? Well, Keeneland is a venerable track, its old-world grandstand built in the 1930s – some feat in the midst of the Great Depression. That makes Keeneland virtually neolithic given the relatively short span of US history.
It was here that the movie Seabiscuit was filmed, largely because the surroundings here have hardly changed since Keeneland was built.
Perhaps it’s seen at the US Ascot because it is always ranked the No1 course for thoroughbred racing; perhaps because Keeneland was founded as a non-profitmaking track – very noble, though far from aristocratic – built to further the cause of racing in general rather than line pockets in particular.
Perhaps it’s because of the wealth assembled at the great meetings – there’s a Spring Meeting in April, a prelude to the Kentucky Derby on the first weekend in May, and a Fall Meeting in October. Perhaps, it’s because Keeneland likes to retain traditions – it was the last track in North America to broadcast race calls over its public-address system, not doing so until 1997.
Keeneland likes to think of itself as not so much “traditional” but as “selectively conservative”. It’s apt a description, because stuffy Keeneland isn’t, having introduced many an innovation over the decades, including the now ubiquitous polytrack surface – think millions of rubber bands mixed with sand and synthetic fibers and woven into a kind of racing carpet that lays on the mud, all to save the legs and hoofs of the expensive thoroughbreds galloping above.
This year the track at Lexington, the epicentre of America’s horse and horseracing industry, celebrates its 75th birthday – the first race being run on October 15 1936 – so expect a bit more pomp and ceremony than usual.
Want to visit, then pop here to see ticket prices and how to apply, but hurry – it’s the 75th anniversary.
A Honeymoon Fit For A Princess
Posted on 07. Feb, 2011 by admin in Featured
With Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall due to tie the knot this July in the second Royal wedding of the year, Kentucky is the perfect place for horse lover Zara to spend her honeymoon.
Kentucky, like Zara, is renowned for its horses and plays host to a number of huge equestrian events each year, including the Rolex Kentucky and Kentucky Derby. It also hosted the World Equestrian Games in 2010, the first time the event has ever left Europe.
Zara and Mike could celebrate their honeymoon by staying at the boutique 21c Museum Hotel. It boasts a contemporary art museum, award winning restaurant and is located in the heart of Museum Row in downtown Louisville. It has twice been voted the number one hotel in the US by the Conde Nast Traveller Reader Choice Awards in 2009 and 2010.
Aside from the horses there is plenty to see and do in Kentucky including the Bourbon Trail. 95% of the world’s bourbon is produced in Kentucky and it is America’s only native spirit. There are eight distilleries on the trail including Jim Bean, Maker’s Mark and Woodford Reserve, all of which are open for tours and perfect to toast the happy couple.
Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby Museum
Posted on 12. Oct, 2009 by admin in Places to visit
Located at Gate 1 of historic Churchill Downs, the Museum presents the traditions and excitement of the “greatest two minutes in sports.” Highlights include 2 floors of interactive, horse racing-related exhibits, a 360-degree high-definition video presentation and a walking tour of Churchill Downs. On the first Saturday in May, the sports world’s spotlight shines on Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby, known as the “Greatest Two Minutes in Sports.”
Horsing Around
Posted on 12. Oct, 2009 by admin in Featured
HORSING AROUND
Kentucky means horses! It hosts the “greatest two minutes in sport” – the fabled Kentucky Derby – when, each May 170,000 people don their finest clobber and flock to Churchill Down’s racecourse in Louisville to watch young throughbreds battle it out. (Even the Queen popped over for a flutter in 2007). Tickets are like gold dust but don’t fret, we can sort you some nuggets, we mean tickets, for the refined enclosure or the madness of the Inside Track.
If you can’t visit in May, no bother; Keeneland racetrack hosts races from April to October. And if the racecourse isn’t your thing, then visit a stud or horse farm. Lexington is the “horseracing capital of the world” with 450 horse farms and studs dotting the rolling bluegrass landscape. Take a guided tour on a farm or get up in the saddle and learn to ride.
For longer gallops, take a horse ride – guided or otherwise – through Kentucky’s sprawling national parks, all on mapped-out bridalways.
It’s all here, you just need to know when to say “giddy-up” and when to say “whoah”.
In September 2010, Kentucky will host the World Equestrian Games the largest ever sporting event held in the US. The Games are held every four years and are comprised of world championships in eight equestrian sports including Dressage, Driving, Endurance, Eventing, Jumping, Para Dressage, Reining and Vaulting.
Did you know?
The Kentucky Horse Park features as many as 53 different breeds of horses.