Good Question: Why doesn’t Keeneland have more racing days?

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - Keeneland traditionally has meets in the spring and fall, but one viewer wanted to know why they don’t have more days at the track.

For today’s good question, Scott asks, Why doesn’t Keeneland have more racing days?

It would make sense that, with as many nice days as we have here in the commonwealth, people would want to spend them at the track. And you do have that option, but you’ll have to do some traveling.

Amy Gregory with Keeneland told us Thoroughbred race tracks in Kentucky, including Keeneland, Churchill Downs, Turfway, Ellis Park, and Kentucky Downs, are not permitted to overlap race days.

If you look at the annual calendar released by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, you’ll see that when one track closes, another usually begins racing the next day.

Under state law, tracks are approved by the KHRC for their “usual and customary” dates each year.

Gregory told us that in some instances, tracks may move their days to help each other out, like in 2020 when Keeneland had to cancel its spring meet because of COVID, Ellis gave up a week of racing in the summer so they could have a one-week summer meet.

All changes have to be approved by the KHRC.

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