Keeneland Firsts

The five-year agreement incorporates Rubicon’s smart waste, recycling solutions, data analytics and sustainability planning to support Keeneland’s efforts to reach zero waste.

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Jan. 1: Shannon Bishop Arvin becomes Keeneland’s eighth President. She is the first woman to serve in the position.

Feb. 1: G.D. Hieronymus, Keeneland’s Eclipse Award-winning Director of Broadcast Services since 2000, retires. Hieronymus will continue to work during the race meets and on special projects for Keeneland and its industry and philanthropic partners. Feb. 11: Prominent Central Kentucky horseman and bloodstock adviser Gatewood Bell is named Keeneland’s Vice President of Racing.

March 17: Lane’s End Farm’s William “Bill” Farish, who serves on the boards of numerous Thoroughbred industry and Central Kentucky organizations, is appointed a Keeneland Trustee. Farish succeeds Claiborne Farm co-owner Seth Hancock, who retires after serving as a Trustee since 2015.

April 2: Julien Leparoux rides Gear Jockey to win the fifth race on opening day of the Spring Meet to record his 500th career win at Keeneland.

April 2-23: Total all-sources wagering for the 15-day Spring Meet is a season record $164,680,229. In accordance with COVID-19 restrictions, only a limited number of fans are permitted to attend the races. Attendance totals 96,243, for an average daily crowd of 6,416.

April 7: Alice Headley Chandler, who helped shape Keeneland’s success, dies at 95. Chandler, whose father, Hal Price Headley, was Keeneland’s first President, bred 1968 Epsom Derby winner Sir Ivor, sold by Mill Ridge at the 1966 Keeneland July Selected Yearling Sale for $42,000 to Raymond Guest. The colt’s achievements boosted Keeneland’s reputation as an international auction house. Chandler held numerous industry leadership positions and continued her father’s service to Keeneland. She was a member of the track’s Board of Directors for 23 years. April 26: Internationally respected bloodstock adviser and consignor Tony Lacy is named Keeneland’s Vice President of Sales. Director of Sales Operations Geoffrey Russell will retire from his full-time position after 25 years with Keeneland but remain in a consulting role through 2021.

June 10: Prominent bloodstock consultant Cormac Breathnach, Ph.D., is named Keeneland’s new Director of Sales Operations.

Oct. 8-30: The Fall Meet, which marks Keeneland’s 85th anniversary, generates track record all-sources wagering total ($181,009,626) for the season. On Fall Stars Saturday on opening weekend, single-day

Throughout its history, Keeneland has been the first track in Kentucky, the U.S. or North America to debut new technologies or has been an early adopter of advances in Thoroughbred racing. They include: 1936 Fall Meet: During its inaugural season, Keeneland introduces the totalisator wagering system – the first in Kentucky. 1940 Spring Meet: Keeneland debuts the enclosed electric starting gate. 1946 Spring Meet: Keeneland features photo finish equipment for the first time.

1949 Spring Meet: Keeneland has a new aluminum inside rail, which replaces the conventional wooden rail.

1961 Fall Meet: Keeneland is the first American track to use the Visumatic Timer, which posts fractional and final times on the tote board.

1979 Spring Meet: Keeneland becomes the first Kentucky track and the fourth track in the U.S. to use the AmTote 300 Series Totalisator System, known as ABC (All Betting and Cashing) Mutuels. The system allows bettors to buy and cash tickets in any amount and type at any window.

1983 Fall Meet: Keeneland debuts the Fontana Safety Rail, which replaces the aluminum inside rail.

1985 Fall Meet: Keeneland debuts the first turf course in Kentucky. On opening day, Ogama Bay wins the first race on the new surface.

1996: Keeneland opens an on-site Repository of X-rays for horses in the July Yearling Sale. 2006 Fall Meet: Keeneland becomes the first track in the U.S. to offer Trakus video race technology. Trakus provides the ability – via sensor ships in saddle cloths and antennas positioned around the track – to track each horse in a race electronically and digitally in real time. Information on individual horses is collected and displayed in various viewer-friendly animated forms.

2008 Fall Meet: Keeneland becomes the first track in North America to provide live race coverage and limited simulcasts in high definition.

2021: In a first at a U.S. track, Keeneland begins using a network of video cameras on the both the main track and training track to capture live footage of horses during morning training. Vice President of Equine Safety Dr. Stuart Brown and Racing Safety Officer Dr. George Mundy monitor videos to evaluate horses for safety purposes.

2021 Fall Meet: Keeneland introduces a new wager, the Keeneland Turf Pick 3, with a $3 minimum and 15 percent takeout, tying together the final three turf races of each day. The wager was well received by the public, netting a total handle of $1,683,502, or an average of $112,233 per day. The average payout was over $1,300 for a $3 wager.