Keeneland
As you enter Old Clubhouse Lane,
there’s an abundance of trees and other plants hiding the view of Keeneland,
making you antsy to see what is behind. As you drive down the road, you begin
to see building after building all labeled with a different name. These
buildings all look similar and each is themed with a different area of
interest. Following the directory signs will lead you to the area you want to
go. These buildings are fancy and look old-timey, although you can tell they
are kept up very well. They are metal and mostly are all white and green.
Having that old-timey look to the buildings gives the guest a comforting feel
and being welcome to the racecourse. Keeneland is a huge area and there are all
kinds of events you can attend.
When you enter into Keeneland and
are walking around, you see a variety of people. Most everyone dresses up and
looks very classy when watching these horse races. Having said this, it
symbolizes that a lot of higher-class people attend such events. You look
around and can see the diversity in the area. There are those who look like
they are official and are owners of horses and then there are the locals who go
for entertainment.
You can hear the horses walking
across the road and eating their hay almost anywhere you go in Keeneland.
Knowing they allow you to see the horses and not make everything such a secret
around the racecourse allows you to feel more invited into Keeneland. The small
children will run up to the horses and just look at them with excitement and
look forward to seeing them on the racecourse. You are able to talk to the
jockeys and the owners of the horses that are racing depending on where they
are placed. You can even visit the Sales Stable and buy horses to place into
the races and hire jockeys to ride the horses. You can even just go to the
barns and ask people any type of question you want. These aspects of Keeneland
are very humbling.
Although I say these aspects of
Keeneland are humbling, the workers of Keeneland are smart. You could get the
feeling that they want you to feel welcomed and to visit more, but by doing so
they are providing these stables for information and other services so they can
make profit off of such events. You can buy horses elsewhere, but Keeneland
sells the “best of the best” I heard someone say in the gift shop.
Planning for the months of April
and October each year, you see workers of Keeneland preparing their selves and
the racecourse for an enthusing race season.
As these individuals are all dressed in the same attire, you know that
they are the employees. As their job is to make sure that the tourists of the
racecourse are satisfied, they are always enlightened with a smile on their
face. From directing traffic, working with sales in the Gift Shop, feeding
horses, painting buildings, cleaning floors, serving food, and other duties
that occur at this course are all completed by these staffs.
As I visited Keeneland I noticed a lot about the
space, how much time and effort is spent on making the place look nice and to
make the guests want to come back more and continue to spend money so that they
can make the place even better. When you enter into Keeneland it feels as if
you are entering into a secret world as if you didn’t know what you were
getting yourself into and then you arrive at the entrance to all of the
buildings and its as if you are in a whole other community or town. There is so
much you could do and they make it that way so that everyone will be interested
in something. Having the directory signs and being allowed to see the horses
and interact with the jockeys and other people that are associated with the
course allows you to feel invited and want to come back. Going to a racecourse
that doesn’t provide these things will not make you want to go back, but with
Keeneland, their cultural space is very different and heartwarming.
