I have visited only one race track (for horses!) in my life, but what a choice. Keeneland is a jewel of a venue on 147 manicured acres, sporting white fences and trim with deep green colors on the buildings, striking architecture, and two race tracks. The first one is a dirt oval of just over a mile - races are set by the movable starting gate so they end at the same place but are run in many different lengths. The second track is a slightly smaller turf oval inside the other one, installed for the visit of Queen Elizabeth II. Keeneland is on the National Register of Historic Places and was voted by industry insiders as the number one track in the United States. You might have seen it if you watched the movie Seabiscuit, the 2005 movie Dreamer, or the 2010 movie Secretariat.
We saw a lot of work going on, as there were people painting, cleaning, cutting grass and working on the track. Quite a lot of work to prepare and maintain these places for the two racing months, October and April. The fall and the spring offer different kinds of racing. The track also hosts auctions, with the one in the fall featuring one-year-olds. If you plan now you can get in on the bidding for one of the 4396 horses registered to be sold in September. The auction will take in about $50,000,000 dollars, a percentage of which stays with the track.
