Week One
A chill is in the air, the leaves are beginning to show a foreboding of what's to come, heavier clothes are brought out of the closet, it must be time for the Keeneland fall meet. Right? Wait a minute! Sunny? 90 degrees? Sunburn? Where did this come from?
The first week of the Keeneland fall meet was anything but typical, as the weather was more like what I just left back home on the Texas Gulf coast. Thanks to the weather (and the women : ) ) they managed to draw just over 50,000 fans on the first weekend.
The weekend of racing featured a stakes schedule rich in graded offerings including four grade ones, a grade two and a trio of grade threes. Some nice prices were available for the handicapper each of the first three days of the meet.
For those experienced in visiting various tracks around the nation one quickly notices the exceptional, and even unusual pride the Keeneland staff takes in the appearance of the plant. Every part of the track is clean and well groomed. (As evidenced by one of the staff scrubbing the concrete around the turnstile area at the entrance with a buffing machine before the gates opened on Friday morning.) Customer service is equally first class. From the catering personnel and the customer service folks in thier forets-green jackets to the mutuel tellers - it's difficult to find a surly one in the bunch. These folks are all smiles! It's just a pleasure to visit this place and handicap the races. The good news is that the Keeneland fall meet is underway. The bad news is that the first weekend is already over.
Bill Weaver
October 9, 2007
