Another Beautiful Fall at Keeneland

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On the up side of life, it's been a wonderful racing season at Keeneland. We've had great weather, and some really close races. We've brought several first timers out to the track, which is always fun. Because Keeneland is a non-profit and they have to put all the money they make back into their operations, they've made some major upgrades to the track this fall. There are new fences and rails (which is an understatement), there are 5 new high-definition video screens in the center of the track to replace the old scoreboard. I was sad to see the old scoreboard go, becauase it reminded you of the good old days, but at the same time these new screens are truly amazing, and they really improve the experience for the fans.

Keeneland has also pioneered a new artificial track surface for horse racing. This is a highly involved system of layers of various artificial materials that look and act like dirt/clay/sand. It's really impressive. It's got the drainage built in, so the track conditions are more consistent when it's rainy. This consistency also makes things safer for the horses and jockeys, which is always good. They've started putting GPS trackers on the saddles too, and one of the new video screens uses these to show a "virtual race." About the only similarity between Keeneland and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (home of the greatest spectacle in racing) is that from any given seat in the grandstands, you can only see about 33% of the track at best. So these GPS trackers really help you see what's happening on the back stretch. Keeneland is just such a great place.

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