Keeneland, Investing in Racing's Future since 1936.
Issue link: https://keenelandmagazine.epubxp.com/i/681141
70 SUMMER 2016 K KEENELAND.COM "do i hear..." Aqueduct; Hollywood; Del Mar; and Caracas, Venezuela." And his signature design element? Wooden arches — as in the massive wooden arches that mysteriously had gone missing for fve weeks during construction. Froehlich, whom Bassett called "visionary," also brought a modern fair to the 12-sided building. "It was totally different than the usual Keeneland ar- chitecture, except for the limestone. It was more mod- ern. It had more windows. It had this rather unique and unusual design, with a hexagonal roof, and it created, from an architectural standpoint, a great deal of interest POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE The excitement that stirs when a great Thor- oughbred is led through Keeneland's sales arena is legendary. And there have been plenty of reasons for that excitement over the years. Keeneland sales graduates include: 20 Kentucky Derby winners (most recent is Nyquist in 2016) 5 Epsom Derby winners 6 Irish Derby winners 4 French Derby (Prix du Jockey Club) winners 21 Preakness winners 18 Belmont winners In addition, 88 sales graduates have won 95 Breeders' Cup races. Horses of the Year Curlin and John Henry, likewise, were Keeneland grads. Today, Keeneland conducts three sales annually. The two signa- ture sales are the September yearling sale and the November breeding stock sale. There is also a January horses of all ages sale. The July selected yearling sale was discontinued in 2003 and the April two-year-olds in training sale was discontinued in 2015. among the public," he added. Still, the design incorporated a nod to Keeneland tradition, including the use of arched windows and its limestone-and-glass facade. A "barn- like feel" was created throughout the interior, Bassett said. "Most of the walls have wood- ed panels all the way around. He [Froehlich] wanted to make it feel like you were coming from the out- side into a barn — a feeling that was horse-related, a warm feeling … rather than cold and sterile," he said. Keeneland chose Sullivan and Cozart of Louisville to build the arena, which included 650 the- ater-style seats for consignors and buyers and bench-type seats for up to 150 spectators. It also boast- ed a telephone room with private booths (no cell phones back then), a bar, offces, a holding area for horses with an adjacent gallery area, and an entrance lobby. McLean remembers the excitement when the pavilion frst opened. "With all the windows around the back walkway, on the front side as you pull up, people could even stand there and look through the windows and actually see a horse in the ring and get to feel part of the action." Test of time Of course, in the nearly 50 years since the pavilion was built, there have been necessary renovations, including a 17,000-square-foot expansion in 2005 that added new conference rooms and a larger business center. Addi- tional renovations included adding a covered walking ring at the rear en- trance of the sales pavilion, expanding the interior walking ring, expand- ing the restaurant and bar facilities, and adding a repository for X-rays and statistical data. "Just like everything else at Keeneland, we were looking at the sales, Director of Sales Geoffrey Russell "It just made it a luxurious place to sell horses. And for people who weren't even in the busi- ness coming out just to see what was going on, it created quite a hubbub of interest." — POPE MCLEAN KEENELAND/Z PHOTOS