Breeders’ Cup Rewind: 2015 Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland

The 32nd edition of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships® brought the season-ending thoroughbred racing event to Keeneland racecourse for the first time.

Located in Lexington, Kentucky, less than 70 miles from Churchill Downs, Keeneland is a historic venue that has held competitions since 1936. But before 2015, the track had never held and event with the status and magnitude that comes with the Breeders’ Cup.

The world’s best horses and trainers would descend upon its grounds from October 30 and 31 to compete at the sport’s highest level. And without knowing it at the time, Keeneland in 2015 would become the venue of one of modern thoroughbred racing’s most memorable feats.

With the World Championships returning to Keeneland for the second time in 2020, let's rewind the clocks and relive the debut of Keeneland on the world’s stage.

Getting Keeneland Ready for Prime Time

Prior to 2015, Keeneland racecourse had never held an event the size of the Breeders’ Cup.

With that knowledge, those in charge of the track would have to make several changes and upgrades prior to the event to make sure the grounds, track and venue were suitable to host a global crowd.

The biggest change was the surface of the track itself. Keeneland’s track had been composed of a synthetic racing surface that needed to be changed to dirt before the Breeders’ Cup. This change was made so that the track closer resembled some of the more common dirt tracks that several of the horses and jockeys were used to.

The management team at Keeneland also created thousands of extra seats and multiple new seating areas to accommodate the high number of new attendees that would walk through the track gates for the Breeders’ Cup.

The temporary expansion preparations worked, as Keeneland brought in over 95,102 spectators over the two days (44,947 on Friday and 50,155 on Saturday).

The size of the track also forced two races to be held at different distances for the first time in their history. The Filly & Mare Turf was held at 1 3/16 miles instead of the usual 1 ¼ miles, and the Turf Sprint was held at just 5 ½ furlongs instead of 6 ½ furlongs.

The Final Chapter of American Pharoah’s Story

Keeneland is one of the newer Breeders’ Cup host venues and yet it already holds arguably the greatest moment in the event’s history.

Coming into the 2015 Breeders’ Cup Classic, American Pharoah had already broken the 37-year drought and claimed the Triple Crown™.

While the colt became the 12th Triple Crown winner, he trotted into Keeneland as the first horse to ever have the chance to claim the Grand Slam of Thoroughbred Racing, which adds a Breeders’ Cup Classic win to the treble. With the last Triple Crown win happening in 1978, six years before the first Breeders’ Cup, no horse had a chance to accomplish the Grand Slam before American Pharoah.

In front of a Keeneland single-day record of 50,155 spectators, American Pharoah dominated the competition in the classic, leading from start to finish and becoming the first horse to ever complete the Grand Slam. In the process, American Pharoah set the 1 ¼ mile Keeneland track record with a time of 2:00.07.

The purse for American Pharoah’s win was $5 million.

2015 Breeders’ Cup World Championship Results

Friday, October 30

Saturday, October 31 

Attend the 2020 Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland

The Breeders’ Cup is returning to Keeneland for just the second time this fall. Be a part of this historic event as the world of thoroughbred racing comes back to Lexington to prove who is the best of the best.

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