Keeneland’s Spring Meet opening Friday with some changes still in place

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - Just one more day until Keeneland’s Spring Meet starts Friday. It’ll certainly be more normal than in recent meets, but there are still some COVID-19 related changes.

Capacity has been maxed at 20,000 for each day of the meet. They call this “optimal capacity.”

Tickets for everything from general admission to the dining room all have to be bought in advance. Keeneland’s president said the decision is based on a couple factors, including the size of their workforce.

“Everyone is waiting with bated breath to get the race meet underway,” Keeneland President Shannon Arvin said.

Thousands will dress in their race day best throughout the three-week meet. It’ll be far normal than last year’s when capacity was much more restricted.

“Keeneland is certainly not alone in having had a really difficult time the past couple of years just navigating how to keep people safe. We have felt such a responsibility to do that,” Arvin said.

Arvin said while capacity will be much higher, they’re capping it at 20,000 a day like they did in the fall.

“We work to achieve optimal capacity. So we want everybody that comes out to the races to leave and say, ‘that was the most fantastic experience I’ve ever had at a race meet.’ In order to do that, we felt like it made the most sense to just be sure everybody could be comfortable where they were instead of feeling like a sardine,” Arvin said.

Arvin said lingering COVID impacts are a factor, so are some staffing shortages. Though they are closer to what they were pre-pandemic.

“The energy is very different, and we feel like it’s a lot more like normal,” Arvin said.

Every Saturday for the meet is sold out, but general admission and grandstand seats are still available throughout the meet. Arvin said they do have a 48-hour cancellation policy so tickets could open up.

Arvin will be on this Sunday’s edition on Kentucky Newsmakers with Bill Bryant. She’ll be previewing some upcoming plans for Keeneland, including the Breeder’s Cup in the fall.

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