It's pretty hard to pick-up comped BC tickets.

I think the Keeneland grandstand could fit into Santa Anita's 3 or 4 times.

The Breeders' Cup (Saturday) has long been the greatest betting day in all of Horse Racing.

I have no desire at all, to ever see one in person.

It's a day for laptop computers with fast internet-connections, a personal TV, and a comfortable seat. I can get that for free, in multiple places.

Keeneland has very low takeout rates, especially on exotic wagers.

From my perspective, I don't care about crowd size. An almost private social party of 15k industry elite is fine with me. To me, a large crowd serves no purpose, other than to perhaps stir up a few horses.

When I hear "Breeders' Cup at Keeneland" -- I think about the 19% takeout on trifectas, superfectas, pick 3's, pick 4's -- that's not a bad thing.

You'd think the Offshore places that rebate have to be hating this. Some of them offer 8% rebates on all-exotic wagers. No exotic wager at Keeneland has a rake over 19%.

Some people like going to the BC, Doug.

I know. But the vast majority of racing fans and bettors aren't going to go anyway.

And, if you don't have any interest in going, or you don't go, Keeneland is a great place for it.

Europeans will be comfortable shipping there as well. It would probably be their second preference to Belmont.

I have never been to Keenland, but why couldn't they build in some type of access to the infield , so they can put in a bunch more temp seats? That's one advantage Del Mar has since they do have access.

You're missing the point. The BC was ( at least partially ) created to showcase great racing at tracks all around the country so that people in various places could see the best horses compete. While I agree that Keeneland is a great theater to hold the event, it is not necessarily a great choice from the standpoint of fans attending.

God forbid it is cold and rainy. There is no tougher track in those conditions. There is very little enclosed space. Plus, the paddock area has very little room on the outside for viewing.

I am on the fence about attending. I have a few friends that have expressed interest in going and would like to experience the Breeder's Cup firsthand. On the other hand, being there on Bluegrass Day was overly crowded for me. If I had my choice of seating:

1) Grandstand
2) South Lawn
3) General Admission

I get that. The 1st post in this thread creates a bad enough picture. At best, tickets will likely be excessively priced and hard to get.

My point simply was that a lot of fans have no interest in attending -- and when you're in that camp -- Keeneland becomes a very ideal location.

In other words, when your "preferred seating for Keeneland Cup '15" is hundreds of miles away from the track, it's an excellent choice of host track.

I've been to many BCs--GP (3), CD (3), BEL (3), SA (1), Toronto (1). The last one was 11 years ago. Now I just go to Vegas or stay home home (Vegas for the last three). You sometimes have a major advantage NOT being at the track. When that whole Life At Ten controversy went down in 2010, the people on track had no idea what was going on (unless they got a call). Meanwhile I was cancelling and changing bets.

That's fair.

Ironically, I think Churchill if planned properly, could have a heckuva fun party with the "big screen" when the BC is at Keeneland. Horse racing for whatever reason is a tough thing to please everyone. For example, if you go to a NFL, MLB, NASCAR etc. for a big event, you get a seat, and you see the event. Horse Racing because of the vastness of the "field" (a mile or more), and that you have to maneuver back and forth to betting windows, and the length of day, it's a difficult event. Keeneland won't be able to please many, the entire grandstand IMO will be Owners, Sponsors, etc., so I doubt if any seats in the grandstand will be available to the general public.

You and me both.

After having been to two BC I am now in agreement with your statement.

I really really enjoyed 2009's BC at Santa Anita.

The 2012 edition, markedly less. I feel like I saw the trajectory the BC was following as far as putting on a live event (maximizing every square inch of revenue-generating real estate at the track) and it's not for me. It's not just a matter of becoming too expensive to attend, but they're carving up the access and seating in ways which really aren;t appealing to me.

Last year I hosted a very nice food/booze/betting fest at my place and I will do the same this year.

now what would you know about an "elite social event ?"

this isn't you and 4 hillbillies sitting around drinking moonshine and smoking cigarettes type of "elite social event "

For me it's akin to staying home for New Year's Eve...I like drinking and dancing and eating, but NYE is "amateur night" crowds. Or Mardi Gras, etc.

Excellent point.

If weather turns wet, there is not much cover. My only trip there was rainy Sunday last October. Glad that attendance was low that afternoon.

Watching from home or OTB with friends.