Keeneland opened its gates to begin the 2025 Spring Meet, welcoming visitors and horse racing fans alike to the long-standing Lexington tradition.
Originally scheduled to start Friday, April 4, opening day was postponed to Sunday, April 6, with the following racing days being rescheduled to Monday and Tuesday due to inclement weather, according to Keeneland officials.
First-time Keeneland attendees, Dave and Patricia Sartelle, said they attended Monday’s races by chance, as they were originally in the area to look at real estate.
“We basically pulled up a map of Kentucky, because we’d never been to Kentucky, and my finger landed on Lexington,” Dave said. “We searched what to do in Lexington, and of course, Keeneland pops up quite often when you do that, so we made it a point to come here.”
While the couple said they were new to Keeneland and horse racing festivities, Dave said he and Patricia owned horses back home in Vermont and were excited for the “whole experience of being on the racetrack.”
Returning attendees Tom Bassett and Kevin Kline said something they always appreciated about Keeneland was the kindness of those in the equine industry, saying the welcoming environment set horse racing apart from other activities.
“You go from the owners who are multi-millionaires down to the grooms, and they’re all the same,” Bassett said. “They’re all so congenial, so open to you, and will do almost anything you want to do.”
Kline and Bassett, who said they first met when living in Massachusetts and working for the same company, said horse racing has always been a bonding point in their friendship.
Kline said when the two got transferred to different company locations, he would often collect programs from the horse meets he would attend so he could give them to Bassett.
“I went and got programs from the local tracks knowing that he would keep collecting,” Kline said. “We have this bond because of the horse race.”
Although the Monday meet was a “very strange day to have racing,” according to Bassett, he said he was still looking forward to what the day had to offer.
While Bassett is the bigger horse racing fan out of the pair, Kline he said he still enjoyed spending time with his friend and help decide which horses to bet on.
“I’m kind of the friend who tags along, and he (Bassett) knows what all this stuff means,” Kline said.
Agriculture teacher at Muhlenberg County High School, Kirsten Oates, said she has been bringing her equine science classes to Keeneland for the past 18 years so they can experience the race activities, as well as further immerse themselves within the equine industry.
After attending Keeneland, Oates said she hoped her students would learn not only what the equine industry offers, but also the economic impact it has on Kentucky.
“They don’t realize how much goes on behind the scenes and how much money’s in it, and how many career opportunities are in it,” Oates said.
By getting to experience the festivities of horse racing themselves, Oates said her students would be able to get a more “hands-on” lesson on jobs in the industry.
“You could talk about stuff in the classroom all day long, but sometimes kids don’t really grasp it until they actually get to get out there and see it,” Oates said.
Keith Kurz, who attended Monday’s meet with his wife, Sally, and friends Kim Frey and Jody Cook, said he appreciated the consistency of Keeneland traditions, as well as seeing his loved ones.
“We’re UK grads and so when Sally comes, all of her old sorority sisters are here, two of our boys come through here, so we run into their friends and their parents’ friends,” Keith said. “When we’re coming, we’re usually seeing a lot more people than just our group.”
Glen Johnson, a “green coat,” or worker at Keeneland, said his favorite part of working the meets is always seeing returning attendees, saying he enjoys the kind of environment they contribute to.
“I made some friends early on, and I can stay in touch with some of them between the races,” Johnson said. “I get to see them out here, and that’s the biggest thing to me.”
After being a green coat for 15 years, Johnson said Keeneland was something he not only felt a part of, but took pride in, often inviting people in his life to attend a race.
“I never did that about my other places that I was employed, but this place, I like for people to come out to see it,” Johnson said. “I feel proud of it.”
