The first event, titled “How to Talk to Your Friends About Horse Racing,” will be held Monday, Feb. 26 at Fasig-Tipton. The presentation will begin at 6 p.m. following cocktails at 5 p.m. Light Up Racing invites participants to “join us for an enlightening evening where we delve into the science of social change and explore six critical concepts that can help reshape the public's perception of horse racing. Learn why you are instrumental in this change and how to navigate and answer difficult questions about the sport with confidence and insight.”

The second event is named “Transforming Negative Opinions into Positive Messaging” and will be held Tuesday, Mar. 5 at Keeneland. The format will be similar to the first with cocktails at 5 p.m. preceding the presentation at 6 p.m. According to Light Up Racing, “this event focuses on turning challenges into opportunities through strategic communication and social media engagement. Discover how to become a powerful ambassador for horse racing, building a community of advocates and leveraging grassroots networks to respond effectively in times of crisis.”

Light Up Racing encourages both veterans of and newcomers to the industry to participate, as the events offer a unique opportunity to “come together, learn, and contribute to a positive shift in how horse racing is perceived and discussed.”

Contact hello@lightupracing.com for more information.

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“Grow Smart: Land Use Analysis and Recommendations” and “Lexington-Fayette County Housing Growth Analysis” will be presented on Tuesday, March 5 at 5:30 p.m. ET in Lexington's Central Library Branch's Farish Theatre, 140 E. Main Street in Lexington.

Expanding development outside of the Urban Service Boundary–the circle around the downtown area of Lexington–has been a contentious issue for years in the city as some fight to preserve Lexington's historic horse farms while others argue that some need to be developed in order to accommodate a growing population.

The research studies will be presented and released at an event titled “Mapped: Analyzing Land and Housing Trends in Lexington. ” Attendees will hear from two different urban planning and land-use experts: Stan Harvey–Director of Urban Planning and Design at Lord Aeck Sargent, and Geoff Koski–President of KB Advisory Group, a real estate and economic development advisory firm.

The first presentation, titled “Grow Smart: Land Use Analysis and Recommendations,” will provide a detailed map of the land we have left within the Urban Services Boundary and its
current zoning and acreage. The second presentation, titled “Lexington-Fayette County Housing Growth Analysis,” will focus on how the community might most efficiently utilize our land and reshape development patterns to better accommodate a growing population.

Fayette Alliance is a nonprofit dedicated to achieving smart, sustainable, and equitable growth in Lexington-Fayette County through land-use advocacy, education, and research,

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The tournament will begin with lunch at 11:30 a.m. ET. before a 12:30 p.m. start. Included in the registration fee are green fees, lunch, team photo, food after the round, a special gift and more. A host of prizes will be given out for longest drive, closest-to-the-pin, door prizes and other games. Each par 3 will have hole-in-one prizes and an award ceremony will follow.

To register a team or request sponsorship information, contact the National Service Center of Race Track Chaplaincy of America at (859) 410-7822 or click here.

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This year marks 15 years since the Racing Surfaces Testing Lab (RSTL) was founded by an engineering faculty member at the University of Maine and an orthopedic surgeon from Colorado State University. The non-commercial material testing lab emerged out of the 2006 Grayson-Jockey Club Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit at the urging of Dennis Moore of Hollywood Park and Dan Fick of The Jockey Club. Initially located in one stall of a two-car detached garage in Orono, Maine, the independent non-profit was made possible by donations from The Jockey Club, National Thoroughbred Racing Association, Churchill Downs Inc., The New York Racing Association, California Association of Racing Fairs and Oak Tree Foundation.

The RSTL in 2023 has little in common with that modest start. Now located in Lexington, Kentucky, the RSTL is in a 3,400-square-foot building on a 1/4-acre lot. The fenced lot is filled with vans and trailers that performed more than 70 pre-meet inspections at 53 racetracks in 2023. The lab no longer just performs standard tests but develops tests in collaboration with the University of Kentucky and racetrack operators, researchers, and graduate students from Europe, Latin America, and Australia. Fifteen years ago, surface standards for horse racing in the United States lagged behind other racing jurisdictions and sports. Today, thanks to a combination of federal legislation and a unique gift, horse racing in the United States has the potential to become an international model for safety and consistency across sport surfaces.

The beginning of the shift started with a 2019 gift from The Jockey Club which enabled the RSTL to take over existing on-site testing and the maintenance database. The single set of equipment previously available for pre-meet inspection had been based in Maine and later in Lexington to serve all racetracks in the United States. The gift provided funding for equipment to be located in Lexington as well as on the West Coast.

With this equipment, the RSTL could perform pre-meet testing at racetracks across the United States and respond quickly if concerns arose. Laboratory material testing was modernized with new equipment, which allowed critical testing to be performed in less than an hour instead of over several days. The existing database was replaced by a new system hosted by The Jockey Club, which started the RSTL on a path to more comprehensive data storage and provided a modern interface for the racetracks to enter maintenance data. The timing could not have been more auspicious. Demand was poised to far outstrip the testing capabilities that existed prior to receiving the gift from The Jockey Club.

When the HISA Safety Regulations went into effect in July 2022, pre-meet inspection, material testing and daily measurements were required at all covered racetracks. As a result of these regulations, the Maintenance Quality System protocols developed over the previous decade had become more than suggestions followed by a few of the most progressive racetracks. Using the new equipment, pre-meet inspections were immediately implemented by the RSTL for HISA. Today, after only one and a half years, test data is available from all covered racetracks. Updated information infrastructure from The Jockey Club forms the backbone of a system that feeds data to HISA in real time. Epidemiological models of horse injuries can now begin to include quantitative racetrack surface data.

Work remains. Dirt, turf and synthetic racetrack surfaces need continuous improvement. Complete daily monitoring of the tracks exists at only a few racetracks. Real-time race surface data is needed by superintendents and researchers. However, the data infrastructure and regulatory framework is in place. New information can be fed to racetrack maintenance personnel. The commitment of the RSTL is unchanged. The design of equipment and testing protocols are all publicly available and subject to peer review. Data from the tracks is widely shared among other racetracks. No other racing jurisdiction and very few other sports have combined research with transparency to build surfaces that are consistent, from day to day, and throughout the United States and Canada.

Michael “Mick” Peterson, Ph.D. is the Director of the Racetrack Safety Program and Professor of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering at the University of Kentucky. He is also the Executive Director and a co-founder of the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory. Wayne McIlwraith is the founding director of the Orthopaedic Research Center, a University Distinguished Professor in orthopaedics and holds the Barbara Cox Anthony University Chair in Orthopaedic Research at Colorado State University.

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The open houses will be held at the farm's stallion complex on Paynes Mill Road in Versailles, Kentucky. Visitors are welcome without an appointment to view the WinStar roster for the 2024 season, led by Constitution ($110,000 S&N) and Life Is Good ($85,000 S&N).

Breeders will also be able to see WinStar's newest additions for 2024: Country Grammer ($10,000 S&N) and Two Phil's ($12,500 S&N).

The open house events will include lite fare and refreshments for those in attendance.

For more information about the open houses, or about WinStar's 2024 stallion roster, contact WinStar Farm at (859) 873-1717.

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During programs planned from January through May, the following authors will discuss their books, with each presentation followed by a reception and book signing:

• 24 – Kim Wickens, Lexington: The Extraordinary Life and Turbulent Times of America's Legendary Racehorse.
• 21 – Fred M. Kray, Broken: The Suspicious Death of Alydar and the End of Horse Racing's Golden Age.
• March 7 – John Paul Miller, False Riches.
• May 9 – Avalyn Hunter, The Kentucky Oaks: 150 Years of Running for the Lilies.

“The authors in this lineup cover varied and engrossing territory,” Keeneland Library Director Roda Ferraro said. “From a chronicle of legendary racehorse and sire Lexington to a gripping account of superstar Alydar, and from a novel of race track intrigue to a comprehensive history of the Kentucky Oaks, this series is sure to please our fans of racing and newcomers alike.”

Click here for tickets.

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Family-owned and operated by the Hall Family since 1964, the company is prepared to make a major financial commitment to accredited Thoroughbred aftercare through this collaboration. Select Hallway Feeds bags will proudly feature the 'Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Proud Supporter' Seal. In addition, the partnership will include race presentations and event booths.

“Hallway Feeds is proud to support the efforts of Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance. As a company that supplies feeds to all facets of the Thoroughbred industry it is fitting that we take an active role in their aftercare,” said Lee Hall, Vice President, Hallway Feeds.

“Lee Hall has established Hallway Feeds as a prominent supplier of horse feeds, not only in Kentucky but also across the United States and globally,” said Craig Bandoroff, Owner of Denali Stud and TAA Vice President. “Recognizing the critical role of accredited aftercare, Lee has committed Hallway Feeds as a strategic partner to advance the cause, actively participating in spreading the important message and mission of Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance.”

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The work of fiction tells the story of 19th century racehorse and sire Lexington by moving back and forth through time and space from the antebellum South to modern day New York and Washington D. C.

At a reception held at Castleton Lyons outside of Lexington, Brooks received a check for $10,000 and a Tipperary crystal trophy in the form of the farm's stone tower. Two finalists for the award– Kathryn Scanlan, for the novel Kick the Latch, and Mary Perdue for her biography of undefeated champion Landaluce–also received crystal trophies, along with $1,000 checks.

“Thoroughbred literature was fortunate that an author of Geraldine Brooks's talent chose the subject of the great Lexington to weave a modern tale into this historical novel,” lead judge Kay Coyte observed.

In addition to Coyte, the judging panel included FanDuel's Caton Bredar, and Annette Dashofy, author of last year's winning entry, Death By Equine.

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The Fayette Alliance is alleging that the Council's decision to expand Lexington's Urban Service Boundary–a circular boundary around the downtown designed to protect Kentucky farmland–was not legal. The Alliance clams that the decision, “violated the Kentucky statutes governing the drafting of comprehensive plans, which require that those plans be based on data, research and analysis.” Moreover, they say, “the decision defied historical precedent, which is clear that any decision to expand the USB in the past has been made by the Planning Commission.”

Attorneys for the city of Lexington have filed a motion to dismiss the case, arguing that since the formal re-zoning has not yet taken place, the Alliance does not have the right to pursue litigation.

The Alliance said that the planning commission will be discussing recommendations on which of the five proposed areas might be rezoned for construction at a meeting Thursday, Oct. 19 at 1:30 p.m. in the Phoenix Building at 101 East Vine Street in Lexington. The meeting is open to the public.

Those interested in providing public input to the Planning Commission may do so on Imagine Lexington's Urban Growth Management website.

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The equine industry has been an important part of Lexington for over 200 years, with some of the first known racetracks in the region dating back to the late 1700s. Over the past two centuries, Lexington has proudly become the Horse Capital of the World, serving as home to some of the industry's biggest icons.

Numerous thoroughbred champions, like Man o' War, Citation, Seattle Slew, Zenyatta and American Pharoah, to name just a few, have been bred and raised in Fayette County. World-class farms like Calumet, Gainesway, Godolphin, and Spendthrift operate here. Some of the industry's most storied institutions–Keeneland, the Red Mile, Fasig-Tipton, and the Kentucky Horse Park–are here, and draw substantial numbers of visitors to our region each year. Global sporting events like the FEI World Equestrian Games and the Breeders' Cup have been hosted here. A study of the November 2022 Breeders' Cup at Keeneland found that the event had an $81 million impact on Fayette County.

Horses and Lexington are inextricably linked. The equine industry is a core part of our region's economy, history, and identity. The land on which we raise our horses is the foundation of the industry.

According to the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, the equine industry is responsible for $6.5 billion in economic activity and a total of 60,494 jobs in the state of Kentucky. Much of that activity is centered in Lexington-Fayette County. Keeneland alone has a reported economic impact on Fayette County of nearly $600 million dollars annually, according to a University of Kentucky study conducted in 2015.

Now consider this: what would happen if horse farms ceased to exist in Lexington-Fayette County because of urban sprawl? What would happen to our region if the equine industry left town, and instead our land was used for subdivisions and shopping centers?

Lexington is currently engaged in a critical land-use debate, the outcome of which could very well threaten the cornerstone of our economy and identity. The soils that support our industry are at risk.

The existing Urban Service Boundary Map with proposed expanded development zones labeled 1-5 | courtesy Fayette Alliance

The Lexington Fayette County Urban Council voted in June to expand the Urban Service Boundary (USB) by between 2,700 and 5,000 acres. The Council decision was made without any data justifying an expansion and was a rejection of the recommendations of the Planning Commission and Planning Staff. A committee was hastily organized and tasked with identifying specific areas of land that should be included in this expansion. The committee was given just seven weeks to complete this task; seven weeks to make a recommendation that will undoubtedly result in permanent land-use changes for Lexington-Fayette County.

Most of the land that the committee identified for USB expansion is prime farmland.

The committee held a public hearing in which many members of our community objected to the USB expansion and the development of our productive farmland.

If our city continues to move forward with the current plans for expansion, Lexington will be changed irreversibly. Once our farmland has been developed, it is lost forever. We risk the vitality of our urban core which has so recently been reinvented because of infill and redevelopment. If we pursue reckless expansion, we will abandon our history of innovative land use planning, which has been developed over the nearly 70 years since the adoption of the Urban Service Boundary in 1958.

I urge members of our community–and of our industry–to stand up for our economy, our identity, and for our farmland. Call on the Planning Commission and the City to approach any expansion of the USB with the utmost prudence and care, recognizing the value of Lexington-Fayette County's farms. You can do this by sharing your thoughts via email, sent to imagine@lexingtonky.gov.

Lexington can find better ways to accommodate economic growth without sacrificing our farms. We must ensure they hear from our industry in order to do so.

Don Robinson
Winter Quarter Farm
Co-Chair, Fayette Alliance

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