The Thoroughbred Center Completes Renovations
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Photo: Courtesy of The Thoroughbred Center
The newly constructed barns at The Thoroughbred Center
The construction of six new barns and other enhancements at The Thoroughbred Center are complete, Keeneland announced Nov. 1. The 245-acre, year-round training facility is located on Paris Pike on the northeast side of Lexington.
The six new barns contain a total of 240 stalls and feature:
- Wider shedrows to accommodate safe winter training for horses housed year-round
- Interior and exterior wash stalls
- Dedicated interior feed rooms along with dedicated hay/bedding storage
- Office tack rooms for trainers
- A stall layout design that maximizes lighting and airflow with spacious windows and doors to the benefit of a healthy training environment for both horses and people
Inside one of the new barns at The Thoroughbred Center
Additionally, improved and dedicated parking was created throughout the facility and new muck pit construction segregates horse traffic from human and equipment traffic for safety during training hours.
"This investment reflects Keeneland's confidence in the future of the Thoroughbred industry and the strength of Kentucky racing," Keeneland president and CEO Shannon Arvin said. "TTC is critical to the continued health of the Kentucky racing circuit. We are excited to make these improvements as part of our commitment to the horses and the people we serve."
Funding for the TTC barn construction project was aided by $500,000 from the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund, which included a matching program with counties in the region with residents who benefit from this investment by Keeneland in the TTC. Each county that collaborated on the project—Fayette, Woodford, Scott, and Jessamine—the city of Lexington, and the Kentucky Agriculture Development Board has a correspondingly designated barn named in appreciation of their commitment.
"We especially thank Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles for his help in securing funds toward completion of this project, which benefits all of Kentucky racing," Keeneland vice president of equine safety Dr. Stuart Brown said. "This partnership represents the first significant equine-related collaboration for a facility construction project in animal agriculture. It also helps grow the equine footprint in Kentucky's agriculture space, and enhances reinvestment in animal agriculture for the Commonwealth to approach $100 million in overall support."
Keeneland has owned The Thoroughbred Center, which originally opened in 1969, since April 2000. The facility has one 7 1/2-furlong dirt track and a smaller five-furlong dirt track for training. Located within a six-hour drive of 10 different racetracks, TTC is home to 831 horses, many of whom reside there year-round.