The countdown to horse racing’s 2022 Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland has officially begun
Keeneland was opening its annual Spring Meet on Friday, but the Thoroughbred track also has an eye on November.
Come Nov. 4-5, the Breeders’ Cup World Championships return to Lexington, fulfilling a promise made when the event was staged before limited attendance at Keeneland during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020.
At a ceremony held Friday downtown at Tandy Park, Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton, Breeders’ Cup CEO and president Drew Fleming, Breeders’ Cup Festival chairman Kip Cornett and Keeneland CEO and president Shannon Arvin joined together to launch the countdown clock toward the 39th annual event.
“We at the Breeders’ Cup love Lexington,” said Fleming, alluding to the fact that this will be the third time since 2015 that the two-day event will be held at Keeneland. When it was decided that the 2020 Breeders’ Cup would be held under COVID restrictions, said, Fleming, “It was important to us to return as soon as possible.”
“We believe the Breeders’ Cup will provide a much-needed economic shot in the arm after the pandemic,” Gorton said.
The Breeders’ Cup and Keeneland will invest $10.5 million to expand seating areas and hospitality offerings. Added will be 7,500 premium seats and 1,800 temporary box seats in 165,000 square feet of what Keeneland describes as “luxury chalets.”
Those will include:
▪ Trackside Luxury Chalets that consist of triple-decker and double-decker chalets located trackside with views of the stretch run that are enclosed and climate-controlled, offering a gourmet buffet luncheon, cocktail service to tables, private wagering, and TVs situated throughout the spaces for enhanced viewing.
▪ The Silks Lawn Chalet, a 50,000-square-foot, glassed-in and climate-controlled chalet with reserved seating, private bars, TVs located throughout, dedicated mutuel tellers, and incredible views of the racetrack from the rail along the final turn.
▪ The Saddling Paddock Chalet, which offers premium views of the championship contenders as they circle the saddling paddock before each race, as well as access to the first and second floors of the grandstand and the track apron for live racing views.
▪ Temporary Loge Box Seats that will span the apron from the one-sixteenth pole to the finish line, offering incredible views of the homestretch along with access to both the first and second floors of the grandstand and dedicated cocktail service to every box.
“It is a privilege to host this event,” said Arvin, who was named Keeneland’s CEO and president last year.
Breeders’ Cup attendance will be capped at 45,000. Ticket sales begin May 9. Single-day ticket prices range from $75 to $504 on Friday, and $125 to $689 on Saturday. Two-year-old races will be held Friday with the Breeders’ Cup Classic highlighting Saturday’s race card. Two-day packages available for purchase range from $200 to $1,568. All tickets will be sold in advance of the event. No tickets will be sold on event days at the racetrack.
Brad Cox, trainer of last year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Knicks Go, was also on hand Thursday. At the 2020 Breeders’ Cup, Cox tied Richard Mandella’s Breeders’ Cup record of four victories in the event.
“This feels like home. It is home,” said the Louisville native, who added that having packed stands back at Keeneland will add to the event. “The fans, the gamblers, they just had to have the overall experience. Definitely.”
The Breeders’ Cup Festival will begin Sept. 30 and continue through Nov. 5. Sponsored by CHI Health, many of the festival’s activities will be announced in the coming months, said Cornett, who emphasized many will be free or at extremely low cost. The festival will include the return of Horse Mania, featuring over 100 artist-designed, life-size Thoroughbred statues.
“A world championship event deserves a world championship festival,” Cornett said.
Cornett also told the crowd that he carries with him a Thoroughbred Daily News 2015 story in which famous chef and Thoroughbred owner Bobby Flay expressed skepticism about whether Lexington was big enough to host the event.
Cornett said he also carries around a story that appeared the day after the first Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland in which Flay said, “I was wrong.”
This story was originally published April 7, 2022 at 10:26 PM.
