It’s Sunday morning, and I confirm that yes, mass will be celebrated on the grounds at Keeneland at 10 am. “I call it ‘Our Lady of the Sales Pavilion,’” quips a local acquaintance. The little room off the main sales area is packed, with barn workers and racing fans, Keeneland employees and families. Out the…
I think it’s awfully nice when school holidays coincide with Keeneland racing; it’s even better when it happens in October, when part of the journey involves wending through the West Virginia and Maryland mountains as fall foliage explodes in color. So at the end of yet another Backstretch road trip (24 hours in the car,…
Saturday, November 24th, 2007, was a pretty good day for trainer Bill Mott. He swept the two-year-old stakes that day at Aqueduct when Court Vision overcame an inquiry to win the Grade II Remsen; a race earlier, his Mushka had rallied from last to win the Grade II Demoiselle. Yesterday, one might have wondered whether…
Back in Brooklyn after two and a half terrific days in Lexington; this was my fourth trip to Lexington and third to Keeneland for live racing, so I hope that no one read my Friday post as anything other than gentle mockery of a superb race track. Keeneland is a different racing world even from…
On Thursday evening, as my friend and I walked back through the Keeneland grandstand at about 5:30 pm, we saw a line of people snaking through the grounds. They had folding chairs and radios, books and decks of cards. They were in for the long haul. What, we asked, were all these people were waiting…
As we pulled into Keeneland early Thursday afternoon on a glorious spring day, I was fretting. Having been in the car since dawn, I had dressed for comfort, a wise decision at 6 am, but on the hallowed grounds of Keeneland, perhaps a dubious one. I contemplated my jeans (pretty nice by jeans standards, if…
Leaving Keeneland Sunday afternoon felt a little like going back to work in mid-August and leaving Saratoga: how can I possibly go when all of that is still going on? Had the racing been mediocre or the weather less pleasant, it might have been easier to leave, but given that in addition to all of…
Keeneland is indeed a venerable, and venerated, site, and for decades, racing fans have flocked to this cathedral, to worship at its altar of racing excellence and elegance. How many, though, have actually worshipped at the race track? Based on my experience on Sunday morning, I’d say thousands. Each Sunday at 10 am, mass is…
Keeneland is a long way from New York, and there’s no doubt that things are a little different here. As I stood at the rail of the training track on Saturday morning, a nearby trainer called out, “Where you from?” “New York,” I replied. “I could tell,” he said. Fortunately, Keeneland on Saturday was populated…
Twenty-four hours in Lexington under my belt, and I already know that I’m never going to get to do everything I want in this short stay. I’ve crossed a return to Midway off of my list, though I can’t imagine how I can give up another stop in that terrific bookshop downstairs from the café.…
Brooklyn Backstretch 