Jon Lees

Jon Lees is an award-winning racing journalist who was senior news reporter for the Racing Post for 20 years, before that he was chief racing correspondent for Britain’s national news agency, the Press Association. He was named Racing Reporter of the Year at the HWPA Derby Awards in 2013. He has travelled extensively covering horse racing, attending his first Breeders’ Cup in 1994. Since 2018 Jon has been a freelance, writing for The Times, the Telegraph, At The Races and Breeders’ Cup, working in PR for Ladbrokes and Newbury racecourse, and regularly contributes to the website horseracingplanet.com.

Keeneland Racecourse – Track Analysis (Breeders’ Cup Turf & Breeders’ Cup Classic):

Located in Lexington, Fayette County of Kentucky, the Keeneland Racecourse actually hosts the racecourse, together with the world-renowned thoroughbred sales pavilion, the largest of its kind. The racecourse hosts two major race meetings in the US annually, in April and October. In 2015, 2020, and for the third time this year, the “Fall Stars” meeting in October will be followed by the 39th edition of the Breeder’s Cup World Championships.

First up, the inner Haggin Course, in memory of Louis Lee Haggin II, Keeneland’s President from 1940-1956, is a left-handed oval measuring 1,408m with banking to promote better drainage, and a more pronounced dip towards the inner fence. Therefore, even though “on the rail” is worded in the official charts, domestic riders usually stay about a path just off the rail to avoid deeper footings, especially when water flows down there and saturates the turf further on rainy days. The course is 21m wide on the homestretch and 24m wide on the backstretch.

Meanwhile, enveloping the turf course is the dirt oval totalling 1,700m in distance. Adjoining the main oval are respectively the 1464m Beard Course, just at the top of the backstretch, and the 900m Headley Course, so-dubbed the “Baby Chute”, that re-joins the course proper on the far turn at a more forgiving angle.

Two G1 races will be simulcast from Breeders’ Cup this year – The Breeders’ Cup Turf and Breeders’ Cup Classic which runs on dirt.

For the G1 Breeders’ Cup Turf, contesting 2400m over the Haggin Course, where the barrier is positioned halfway down the backstretch, with about 230m drive to the first turn, while the homestretch measures 360m from the final turn to the winning post, with yet another lap to go. In all, the Breeders’ Cup Turf field will dispute over a lap and a half of this oval.

There are two finish lines at Keeneland, the Breeders’ Cup Turf will be finished at the second winning post in the stretch. This turf course, sodded with a mix of rye, bluegrass and tall fescue, is one of the few sand-based tracks in the US, and one of the closest to European surfaces. Consistently serving stone-closers well, it is in turn so challenging to the front-runners that try to make every stride a winning one.

In the 2015 Breeders’ Cup Turf at Keeneland, the first five finishers were drawn in stalls nine, one, seven, four and ten in a 12-runner field on going rated good. SHINING COPPER broke best to take up the running and open up a clear advantage on the rest of the field, but as he began to tire he was reeled in by GOLDEN HORN on the final turn with FOUND closely tracking him. The pair duelled up the straight until the filly got her head in front with 130m to run and triumph by half a length.

Five years later in 2020 Irish fillies finished one and two as the first five across the line were drawn from stalls three, two, nine, six and ten, in a 10-runner field on firm ground, with European horses filling four of the top five placings. CHANNEL MAKER set out to make the running and was still in front with 200m to run. Yet he was run down by TARNAWA who came from the back of the field and widest of all to catch from the final turn, passing the leader with 130m to run and win by a length with MAGICAL also getting by late to relegate CHANNEL MAKER to third. This victory continues to validate the Breeders’ Cup Turf as a stronghold for European “shippers”, which have 7 wins in the last 10 runnings.

For the 2000m Breeders’ Cup Classic over the dirt course, its starting gate is positioned at the top of the homestretch – the widest spot of the entire oval at 30m – providing a 391m run to the first turn. Then the homestretch returns to its modal 22m width, and the backstretch 24m wide. The second winning post is used for the Classic, providing a full 368m stretch run from the turn to the finish line.

In 2015, AMERICAN PHAROAH wired the field to win by six and a half lengths, the largest winning margin in the race’s history, with the New York-bred EFFINEX checking in second, and HONOR CODE another four and a half lengths back. The first three were drawn in stalls four, six and eight.

It was a much tighter affair when the race returned to Keeneland five years later, yet AUTHENTIC, the Kentucky Derby victor that same season, also led every step of the way to defeat IMPROBABLE by two and a quarter lengths, with GLOBAL CAMPAIGN a further length back for third. While both place-getters were out-classed rather than out-paced, and simply could not match the winner’s late kick, the first three were breaking form stalls nine, eight and seven respectively. Both winners possessed tactical speed, which has increasingly been a hallmark of success.

The weather for Keeneland, as of late, is mixing dry days that average temperatures of 18 degrees, with occasional downpours do pop up leading to Breeders’ Cup Week. Therefore, the going is likely to stay on the soft side of good for the turf, while still fast on the main track.

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