Popular College Scholarship Day kicks off 15 days of racing, loaded special events calendar
LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 31, 2014) – While Keeneland presents 15 days of world-class Thoroughbred racing from April 4-25, fans of all ages can celebrate spring with a jam-packed calendar of special events.
Headlining the fun are such favorites as College Scholarship Day, Sunrise Trackside, the Maker’s Mark Commemorative Bottle Signing, Military Appreciation Day, as well as the news “Ladies of the Turf” event, part of Horses and Hope Pink Day, and Concert on the Lawn.
The Spring Meet kicks off with the always-popular College Scholarship Day on April 4 and concludes April 25 with a concert by Lexington’s own Laura Bell Bundy and Sundy Best. In between, Keeneland once again provides racing fans with activities and events for all ages, including the inaugural Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 19 as part of Sunrise Trackside.
These special events and more promise to make Keeneland’s 2014 spring season one of the most exciting ever.
Keeneland 2014 spring special events calendar
♦ Friday, April 5: College Scholarship Day on Friday, April 4, draws thousands of students from colleges and universities in Kentucky and neighboring states. Admission is free with a college ID. Full-time students can register in the College Zone in the North Terrace to win one of ten $1,000 scholarships, and prizes from local vendors after each of the day’s races. The first 2,000 students to register will receive a free T-shirt courtesy of Kennedy’s Wildcat Den or a Vineyard Vines baseball hat. In the College Zone, students can enjoy music; free snacks from Qdoba, Raising Cane’s and Drake’s; photos by TOPS in Lex; and games and prizes from Orange Leaf. Students can also register for the Drake’s Handicapping Challenge; one student will win the opportunity to place a $500 bet on the feature race, the $100,000 Transylvania (G3).
♦ Friday, April 4: The Keeneland Gift Shop Presents Vineyard Vines trunk show from 11 a.m.–6 p.m.
♦ Friday, April 4, 11, 18: Friday Pick 4 Presented by TVG. A $200,000-guaranteed pool will be offered on races 6-9.
♦ Fridays, April 11, 18 and Saturdays, April 5, 12, 19: The Craft Beer Tent returns on the North Terrace patio. The special selection of craft beers will be featured on Fridays – excluding April 4 – and Saturdays during the meet and include Country Boy, Kentucky Ale Kolsch, Land Shark, Shock Top, Sierra Nevada and Sweetwater.
♦ Saturdays, April 5, 12, 19: Sunrise Trackside sponsored by LEX18, the Lexington Herald-Leader and Dunkin’ Donuts offers activities for all ages beginning at 7 a.m. (ET). Fans can enjoy Breakfast With the Works, a Southern-style breakfast and trackside commentary during the morning workouts (until 8:30 a.m.); children’s activities in the Kids Club Corner (7-9 a.m.); an equine-related demonstration in the Paddock (9 a.m.); guided walking tours of Keeneland (8-10 a.m.); a trackside handicapping seminar (11:30 a.m.); and a Q&A session with a Keeneland jockey in the Paddock (12:05 p.m.). Keeneland Bugler Steve Buttleman will also be on hand to take photos with fans. On Saturday, April 19, the Kids Club will also host an Easter Egg Hunt on the North Terrace Lawn at 9 a.m. along with an opportunity for children to meet baby chicks, bunnies and other animals from Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill.
♦ Fridays and Saturdays, April 4-25: On Fridays and Saturdays, The Hill, Keeneland’s official tailgate lot located adjacent to the Keene Barn & Entertainment Center, will feature food trucks, a jumbo television screen, wireless wagering and wagering terminals, race-day programs, a Keeneland Gift Shop kiosk and free shuttles to the track. On Saturdays, fans can enjoy live bluegrass music. BETologists will also be available to answer fans’ questions.
♦ Sunday, April 6: Military Day at the Races, presented by Marathon. Keeneland will honor all active and inactive members of the military and their families with free general admission with a military ID at any pass gate. The North Terrace will be transformed into the Military Family Zone with free food, live music, children’s activities and more. Keeneland will welcome a special guest, U.S. Army Sgt. Dallas Robinson, for a meet and greet with fans. Robinson, a Kentuckian, was a member of the 2014 U.S. Olympic Bobsled Team that competed in Sochi, Russia.
♦ Wednesdays, April 9, 16, 23: Patrons can take part in the WINS-day Challenge, a handicapping contest presented by Malone’s. At Wagering Central, contestants can sign up to play for a $10 entry fee, then they place a mythical $2 win and place wager on Keeneland Races 3 through 8. The contest offers a guaranteed $2,500 pool, and the first 200 participants receive a free Daily Racing Form and a card for an appetizer at Malone’s. The first-, second- and third-place finishers receive cash prizes and a gift card from Malone’s.
♦ Thursday, April 10, through Sunday, April 13: The Keeneland Gift Shop Presents a meet and greet with hat milliner Christine A. Moore from 9 a.m.–6 p.m.
♦ Friday, April 11: Maker’s Mark Commemorative Bottle signing. Sales of the bottle will start April 4 at retail locations across Kentucky and benefit UK HealthCare’s Gill Heart Institute.
♦ Friday, April 11, and Saturday, April 12: The Keeneland Gift Shop Presents the Bosom Buddy Bags trunk show from 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
♦ Saturday, April 12: All-Stakes Pick 4 presented by TVG. A $300,000 guaranteed All-Stakes Pick Four Presented by TVG features Races 8-11, the Shakertown (G3), Madison (G3), Jenny Wiley (G1) and Toyota Blue Grass (G1).
♦ Saturday, April 12: All-Stakes Pick 5 presented by TVG. A $300,000 guaranteed All-Stakes Pick Four Presented by TVG features races 7-11, the Commonwealth (G3), Shakertown (G3), Madison (G1), Jenny Wiley (G1), and Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G1).
♦ Sunday, April 13: To raise breast cancer awareness, Keeneland will host the annual Horses and Hope Pink Day. Horses and Hope is First Lady Jane Beshear’s initiative to reach women working in Kentucky’s horse industry with education about breast cancer and mammography screening. In conjunction with the day’s festivities, Keeneland will honor “Ladies of the Turf,” nearly 30 retired and active female jockeys, including those who were first allowed to ride in 1969 and some of the most accomplished members of their profession. The women also will sign a commemorative fundraising poster created by horse racing cartoonist Peb. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to the track to raise breast cancer awareness and interact with the jockeys during the day’s events.
♦ Friday, April 18: The “50 to 1” Movie Tour arrives at Keeneland celebrating Mine That Bird’s implausible journey to victory in the 2009 Kentucky Derby. The story is documented in the feature-length film “50 to 1,” and the accompanying “50 to 1” Movie Tour. In the evening, the movie premiers in Lexington, the final stop on a 1,700-mile trek that began at Sunland Park near El Paso, Texas. The day’s activities will include an appearance by Mine That Bird and a fan meet and greet with actors from the movie.
♦ Friday, April 18: Race fans are invited to It’s My Derby in the Keeneland Sales Pavilion to rub elbows with some of Thoroughbred racing’s most recognizable people. The fundraiser will feature a panel discussion and VIP reception with 2013 Kentucky Derby winner Orb’s co-owner and breeder Stuart Janney and trainer, Shug McGaughey, as well as trainer Barclay Tagg, winner of the 2003 Derby and Preakness with Funny Cide, and two-time Derby-winning jockey Chris McCarron. Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas will moderate the panel. Proceeds benefit the Kentucky Derby Museum.
♦ Saturday, April 19: As part of Sunrise Trackside, the Keeneland Kids Club will also host an Easter Egg Hunt on the North Terrace Lawn at 9 a.m. along with an opportunity for children to meet baby chicks, bunnies and other animals from Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill.
♦ Friday, April 18, through Sunday, April 19: The Keeneland Gift Shop Presents a trunk show by Dorfman Pacific from 11 a.m –6 p.m.
♦ Wednesday, April 23: TVG Hat Giveaway. The first 1,000 patrons with paid admission through the gates will receive a voucher for a free TVG hat. Fans can redeem their voucher from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at a table located Trackside near Elevator C.
♦ Thursday, April 24: Lexington Herald-Leader Subscriber Appreciation Day. All Herald-Leader subscribers will receive free general admission with the coupon found on the front page of the Thursday, April 24, edition of the newspaper. Herald-Leader personalities will be available to meet with fans throughout the day.
♦ Friday, April 25: Concert on the Lawn presented by Dixiana Farms will benefit the Markey Cancer Center. The event, to be held on the Clubhouse Lawn immediately following the races, features a free concert by L
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