Lexington, KY: Keeneland Racetrack

A few weeks ago, over IU's fall break, we went down to Lexington. We bought tickets to a pre-season NBA game (John Wall vs Anthony Davis) at Rupp Arena months ago, but we wanted to do some other things while we were down there too. Eric's dad suggested going to Keeneland...and I have wanted to go to Keeneland for pretty much forever. I was really really into this book series growing up, so I'll blame that for my desire to go to a bunch of horse racing facilities.

It...was pretty awesome. These photos are from the second day we were there (yup, we went on both Saturday and Sunday; the guy we bought tickets from would only sell them if we bought both days), and the weather was waaaay nicer on Sunday. (You'll see the dreary photos from Saturday down the post.)

Before each race you can see the horses be walked and then the jockeys mount.

Here are the photos from our rainy and cold Saturday. It was still really fun, though!

This was my first-ever winning horse racing ticket! (Actually the first bet I placed at Keeneland was the first time I'd ever bet on horses!)

Here's a shot of the area where the horses are walked prior to being led out to their jockeys. The third floor has some really nice viewing areas with giant windows. We also ate on the third floor. The pulled pork I had was very tasty.

The betting windows before they opened for the day. We arrived very early (around 11am) in order to check out everything before the crowds arrived. October is one of Keeneland's busiest times of the year. The Grandstand seating was all sold out (we got our tickets on Craigslist from a very nice guy who had been going to Keeneland for years and years).

Getting to see Keeneland and bet a little bit (we all ended up ahead on Saturday!) was so fun. I can't wait to go back!