Keeneland
National Historic Landmark · Lexington, Kentucky
A National Historic Landmark racecourse in the horse farms west of Lexington, opened in 1936 and deliberately built as the opposite of a commercial track — it ran for sixty years without a public address announcer because the founders thought calling the race spoiled it. It races only two short meets a year, in April and October, and spends the rest of the calendar as the largest thoroughbred auction house in the world. The mornings are the secret: training runs from dawn most of the year, it is free to watch, and the track kitchen serves breakfast to anyone who walks in.
4201 Versailles Road, Lexington, Kentucky, 40510, United States
Racing in two meets only — roughly three weeks in April and three in October. Morning training runs from dawn most of the year and is free and open to the public, as is the Track Kitchen. Thoroughbred auctions run in January, April, September and November and are free to attend. The Keeneland Library is open on weekdays. Check the calendar before travelling — there is no racing outside the two meets.