Friday Marks Keeneland's 85th Birthday

Eighty-five years ago today, Keeneland was preparing to open and return Thoroughbred racing to Lexington.

Thoroughbred racing had not been held in the city since the spring of 1933, when the Kentucky Association track near downtown ran what would be its final meet after more than 100 years of operation. In August 1935, a group of horsemen led by Hal Price Headley and Maj. Louie A. Beard purchased 147½ acres of Jack Keene’s Keeneland Stud, and began work to transform the property – which included a 1 1/16-mile track and nearly completed stone building – into a race track. 

Keeneland’s founders had a unique vision for their track through their new organization called the Keeneland Association, which was created by horsemen, for horsemen and the community. 

Original plans called for Keeneland to open in April 1936, but an unusually hard winter delayed work. Opening day was set for Thursday, Oct. 15, 1936.

The Blood-Horse, the venerable Thoroughbred industry magazine, reported on Keeneland’s opening day in its Oct. 24, 1936 issue:

“Keeneland, the Blue Grass country’s splendid gesture toward returning racing to its old traditions of sportsmanship, opened Thursday, October 15, with all the benedictions of nature. The weather was fair and warm, the track fast. Approximately 8,000 were in the crowd, which saw the first field, led by Joe Moran on his pony with the coach dog spotting, parade to the post. …”

Keeneland’s first race was a $1,000 event for 2-year-old fillies at 6 furlongs. Winning by 4 lengths was John Hay Whitney’s Royal Raiment, a daughter of *Royal Minstrel ridden by Johnny Gilbert and trained by J.W. Healy.

The star of the seven races on opening day was Brownell Combs’ Myrtlewood, who won the $2,000-added Keen Handicap for her first of three wins during the nine-day meet. Myrtlewood is the namesake of the new Keeneland stakes to be run Oct. 29.

Attendance on opening day was approximately 8,000, and handle reached $74,639.

“Most encouraging of all was the manner in which lovers of the Thoroughbred flocked to Keeneland from different parts of the country,” wrote The Blood-Horse in an editorial in the Oct. 31, 1936, issue. “The new track, a beautiful setting for the full enjoyment of a great sport, became at its very beginning the scene of a reunion. No more representative crowds were ever seen at a Lexington track, we feel quite safe in saying.”

In the column “A Stud Farm Diary” in the Nov. 7, 1936, issue, author “Nothing Venture” wrote in his entry for Oct. 22:

“Went racing at Keeneland with the editor of this journal in the afternoon, and what a spot it is! … Was surprised at the cosmopolitan crowd I saw at the track and it seemed as though everyone one ever knew was on hand and bent on offering Kentucky’s traditional hospitality. May the vision of those who are responsible for Keeneland never dim, for they have done their job splendidly.”

The inaugural meet covered nine days (Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 15-17, and Monday-Saturday, Oct. 19-24). Total attendance was 25,337, and total handle reached $534,497.

Keeneland’s opening was celebrated throughout Lexington and recognized as a pivotal moment that would forever shape the Thoroughbred industry. By continuing the founders’ vision, Keeneland today still pursues its mission with a passion.

Keeneland continually invests in the Thoroughbred industry, preserving the tradition of Thoroughbred racing while adapting with innovation to remain an internationally renowned racecourse and the Thoroughbred industry’s leading auction house. Keeneland leads efforts to ensure the integrity of the racing industry, improve the health and safety of equine and human athletes, support the Central Kentucky community and much, much more. 

Read more about Keeneland’s development and learn what was going on in Lexington when the track opened in the Fall issue of Keeneland magazine. Click here for more information.