Keeneland Offers Exciting Ways for Fans to Enjoy Oct. 2-24 Fall Meet

Keeneland at Home Presented by UK HealthCare, Official Keeneland Watch Parties in Partnership with VisitLEX and Bluegrass Hospitality Association among activities

Keeneland is making it easy for fans no matter their location to watch and wager on the track’s 17-day Fall Meet with two exciting programs: Keeneland at Home Presented by UK HealthCare and Official Keeneland Watch Parties in Partnership with VisitLEX and the Bluegrass Hospitality Association. 

Friday is opening day of the Fall Meet, which runs through Saturday, Oct. 24. The season will be closed to the public because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

“This community and Keeneland’s passionate fan base are what make the Keeneland race meets so special,” Keeneland Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Christa Marrillia said. “Whether you are watching and wagering from home or enjoying the meet from a Keeneland watch party, we are grateful to our fans and tourism partners who are celebrating with us in new ways.”

Keeneland at Home Presented by UK HealthCare

Back by popular demand, Keeneland at Home debuted during the Summer Meet in July and now offers fans a variety of tools to celebrate the Fall Meet and carry on their race-day traditions from the comfort of their own homes. Visit the Keeneland at Home website for links to the livestream of Keeneland races, free race-day digital programs, food and drink recipes, activities for kids and more.

During the Fall Meet, fans are invited to tag @Keeneland and use the hashtag #KeenelandatHome to share their at-home tailgates and viewing parties.

On Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, fans can begin their race days with “Keeneland at Home Presented UK HealthCare.” This 30-minute “pre-game show” will air at 12:15 p.m. ET on Facebook Live, Keeneland’s YouTube page and on Twitter @KeenelandRacing. Hosted by Christina Blacker and featuring handicapping and daily picks from Ellis Starr, the program will preview the day’s card as well as offer lessons in BETology, cocktail recipes from Buffalo Trace, a preview of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships and more.

“Horse racing is synonymous with fall in Kentucky” said Dr. Mark Newman, Executive Vice President for Health Affairs of UK HealthCare. “UK HealthCare is excited to take part in Keeneland at Home and celebrate our community’s traditions in new ways that fans can enjoy safely from the comfort of their homes.”

UK HealthCare sponsors the $350,000 First Lady (G1), a 1-mile turf race for fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up, which is part of the prestigious Fall Stars Weekend and will be run Saturday, Oct. 3. UK HealthCare also is the presenting sponsor of the Keeneland Kids Club.

Official Keeneland Watch Parties

Expanding on the Keeneland at Home model, Keeneland, VisitLEX and the Bluegrass Hospitality Association (BHA) are providing restaurants, bars, hotels and Central Kentucky businesses with tools to safely and responsibly host an Official Keeneland Watch Party.

Interested businesses may register at Keeneland.com/watchparties, download the free toolkit and follow the step-by-step guide to host an Official Watch Party. The toolkit includes cocktail recipes, décor ideas, printable fliers, table tents with QR codes for free digital programs and more. Businesses also may purchase souvenir programs for their guests, obtain Watch Party kits and book Keeneland BETologists for the ultimate Watch Party experience. 

“The pandemic and cancellation of countless events like the Keeneland Spring Meet drastically impacted our local tourism community,” VisitLEX Vice President of Marketing Gathan Borden said. “Finding ways to support our tourism partners and celebrate the Fall Meet in a safe and responsible way is a perfect fit for VisitLEX.”

“Blue Grass Hospitality Association is excited to share the Keeneland Watch Party concept with our member hotels, restaurants, bars, attractions and tourism partners” BHA President Pam Avery said. “So many of our members count on the Keeneland race meetings to drive business in April and October.  The track’s Official Watch Parties will allow our tourism community to capture some of this business in a creative new way.”

Keeneland at Home and Official Keeneland Watch Party offerings include:

Programs: Complimentary race-day programs can be downloaded on Keeneland at Home or through the Keeneland Race Day App. Click here for a list of locations that are selling Keeneland programs.

Keeneland at Home Kits: The Keeneland Shop is offering a selection of Keeneland at Home Kits, which fans can customize. Kits, which include branded drinkware, apparel and accessories, are available in Pick 2, Pick 3 and Pick 4 versions via The Keeneland Shop online store.

Recipes for Keeneland favorites: Make your own Maker’s Mark Bread Pudding, Keeneland Burgoo, Buffalo Bow Tie and Keeneland Breeze just as if you were at the track. Click here to download recipes. 

Keeneland Select offer: Keeneland Select is an online wagering platform with a rewards program and philanthropic component. Sign up for a new account with Keeneland Select and receive a special $50 back after you wager $100 on Keeneland racing in October with the promo code FALL20. This is on top of Keeneland Select’s lucrative sign-up bonus that will earn a player $100 after he or she wagers $300 in the first 30 days.

Keeneland Kids Club in Partnership with UK HealthCare Kentucky Children’s Hospital: Young fans are invited to join the popular organization to learn more about Keeneland and the horse industry and participate in its philanthropic element. Also download free Keeneland Coloring Sheets.

TV, online options for viewing Fall Meet racing

Racing during the Fall Meet will begin each day at 1:05 p.m. ET, and fans can watch pre-race action and every race on TVs, on phones and on computers.

Programming will start at 11:30 a.m. with “Today at Keeneland,” a 30-minute preview show with handicapping picks and discussion of horses of interest. Racing analysts Gabby Gaudet and Scott Hazelton host “Today at Keeneland,” which airs live on TVG2, The CW Lexington and WKYT.com and is streamed live on Keeneland.com, Keeneland Select and Keeneland’s YouTube page.

NBC and NBCSN will provide live coverage of several of Keeneland’s Breeders’ Cup Challenge races as part of its “Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series: Win and You’re In, presented by America’s Best Racing.” Air times are Oct. 2 (4-6 p.m. on NBCSN), Oct. 3 (NBC will include coverage from Keeneland during its Preakness-G1 broadcast), Oct. 4 (4:30-6 p.m. on NBCSN) and Oct. 7 (4-5 p.m. on NBCSN).

Nourish Lexington is Fall Meet featured charity
As part of Keeneland’s mission to give back to the community, Keeneland at Home fans and Keeneland Official Watch Party attendees will have the opportunity to support Nourish Lexington, Keeneland’s featured Fall Meet charity.

Launched in April, Nourish Lexington uses the talents and resources of food service and hospitality employees displaced by the pandemic to provide nutritious meals for community members in need, including Fayette County Public School children. To date, Nourish Lexington has provided over 150,000 meals to members of the community.

Click here to learn more about Nourish Lexington and donate to the effort.

Keeneland 2020 Fall Meet at a Glance

Schedule: 17 days from Oct. 2-24. No racing on Mondays and Tuesdays.

First post: 1:05 p.m. ET

Racing: Season features 18 stakes worth a total of $4,775,000. Opening weekend is Fall Stars Weekend with 10 stakes, nine of which are graded, worth $3.15 million. Five of those races are Grade 1 events, and nine of them are Breeders’ Cup Challenge “Win and You’re In” contests that award the winners fees-paid berths into corresponding races for the 37^th World Championships at Keeneland on Nov. 6-7.

TVG coverage: Live, on-site coverage begins each race day at 1 p.m.

NBC/NBC Sports Network coverage: NBC and NBCSN will provide live coverage of several of Keeneland’s Breeders’ Cup Challenge races as part of its “Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series: Win and You’re In, presented by America’s Best Racing.” Air times are Oct. 2 (4-6 p.m. on NBCSN), Oct. 3 (NBC will include coverage from Keeneland during its Preakness-G1 broadcast), Oct. 4 (4:30-6 p.m. on NBCSN) and Oct. 7 (4-5 p.m. on NBCSN).

Online coverage: Live streaming of all races at no charge is available on Keeneland.com, Keeneland Select, Keeneland Race Day App and again on Keeneland’s YouTube page Presented by Darley, which can be streamed directly to your smart TV.

Programs: Keeneland will again offer fans the option to download complimentary race-day programs at Keeneland.com or purchase atlocations in and around Lexington.

Social: Tag @Keeneland and use the hashtag #KeenelandatHome to share at-home viewing parties.