Keeneland's spring meet thrives despite inclement weather

Withstanding the rainiest April on record in Central Kentucky, Keeneland's

2011 spring meeting ranked among the best in the track's 75-year history,

posting strong attendance and handle figures. The 15-day stand opened April 8

and concluded Friday.

"If it were possible to chart adverse weather with all the race meet

statistics, this would be one of the top Keeneland meets ever," Keeneland

President and CEO Nick Nicholson said.

"I'm amazed at how well the race meet held up despite the adverse conditions

and want to commend all involved, including our entire team, the horsemen and

even both tracks themselves."

Despite the nearly 13 inches of rain at Keeneland, the racing was quality and

formful with relatively few scratches.

As Nicholson stated, "synthetic surfaces are known as all-weather surfaces in

Europe and ours certainly lived up to that moniker this spring."

Nicholson pointed out that the all-weather surface has had only one equine

racing fatality during the spring since its installation five years ago.

"The all-weather surface has far exceeded our expectations," he said.

Nicholson also was pleased that the handle remained strong despite the wet

weather, which likely wouldn't have been the case before the first spring season

on an all-weather surface in 2007.

"Field sizes would've plummeted with such a wet April on our old track,

resulting in a dramatically lower handle," he said.

Total meet attendance for the spring season was 241,684 -- the third-highest

for a spring meet ever -- compared to 238,282 last spring.

"To surpass last spring, which saw mostly mild, pleasant race days, is a

tribute to the fans that braved the sometimes treacherous conditions this meet,"

Nicholson said. "We have some of the greatest race fans in the country."

On-track handle on Keeneland for the 2011 spring meeting totaled $18,473,700,

compared to last year's $17,906,359, up 3 percent. Average on-track wagering on

Keeneland was $1,231,580 compared to $1,193,757 in 2010.

All-sources handle on Keeneland for the 2011 spring meeting totaled

$117,225,845 compared to $107,858,516 in 2010, marking a 9 percent increase.

Figures for all sources, including whole-card simulcasting, will be available on

Monday.

On the track, the race for leading jockey honors between Julien Leparoux and

Alan Garcia went down to the final day. Leparoux, a multiple Eclipse Award

winner, accumulated 19 wins and earned his fourth spring meeting title (2006

[first apprentice to win a Keeneland title, tying with Rafael Bejarano], 2007

and 2009) and sixth title (fall 2006 and 2010) overall at Keeneland. Leparoux

boosted his record with four wins on April 17 and a victory in the Lexington

(G3) on April 23 aboard Derby Kitten (Kitten's Joy).

Garcia, who rode his first full season at Keeneland this spring, finished

second with 16 wins, followed by Javier Castellano with 15 victories. Three of

Castellano's wins came in stakes -- an upset victory in the Ashland (G1) with

Lilacs and Lace (Flower Alley), with Get Stormy (Stormy Atlantic) in the Maker's

Mark Mile (G1) and aboard Exhi (Maria's Mon) in the Ben Ali (G3). 

Ken McPeek captured his first spring trainer title to go along with honors

earned in the fall of 2009 and 2010. McPeek finished the meeting with 14 wins,

two shy of Todd Pletcher's 2005 spring meeting record of 16 wins. Wesley Ward

ranked second with nine victories, followed by Michael Maker with seven wins.

"It's a game of cycles with a lot of ups and downs, but we were fortunate

that a lot of stars aligned for this meet," McPeek, a Lexington native, said.

"We held a lot of horses from Gulfstream and waited to run them here. I love

winning here and I always have. Winning this training title is very special."

Ken and Sarah Ramsey dominated the owner standings with 10 wins, including

two stakes victories on April 23 -- with Derby Kitten in the Lexington and

Holiday for Kitten (Kitten's Joy) in the Giant's Causeway. That day they also

finished second with Dean's Kitten (Kitten's Joy) in the Ben Ali. This was the

ninth Keeneland leading owner title for the Ramseys, who have previously won

three spring titles (2004 [tie], 2006 and 2010 [tie]) and five fall titles (2000

[tie], 2002, 2007 [tie], 2008 and 2009).  

"It's been an awesome meet," Ken Ramsey said. "This meet has been very

special because of the success of our homebreds. To have two homebreds win

stakes races and another run second in a stakes race, all on the same day at

Keeneland, was just unbelievable. It's an honor to be the leading owner here."

Owners Charles E. Fipke, Susan McPeek et al's Magdalena Racing and Wesley

Ward tied for second with four wins each.

On April 16, Aikenite's (Yes It's True) victory in the Commonwealth (G2) gave

owner Cot Campell's Dogwood Stable its eighth Keeneland graded stakes victory

and a gold tray as part of Keeneland's unique gold trophy program to recognize

owners.

"The quality of races, the size of purses and the ability to draw the

attention of the racing world allows us to attract many of the best trainers,

jockeys and horses to Lexington each spring," Vice President of Racing Rogers

Beasley said. "Our short meet was filled with dramatic and thrilling racing."

Keeneland continues to lead the country in social media outreach for

handicapping and generating fan interest in the sport. It launched Facebook's

first-ever horse racing game based on real-time information, resulting in more

than 1,500 daily players and more than 2.5 million newsfeed impressions during

the 15-day meeting.

Daily handicapping chats with expert Jeremy Plonk averaged more than 2,000

per day, with a high of 4,000 on Blue Grass Stakes Day.

The track also hosted other special events and promotions:

"As we celebrate our 75th year, we strive each meet to provide the

highest-quality racing in a safe environment so that our incredible fans come

away with an incomparable sporting and entertainment experience," Nicholson

said.