Keeneland Library

A Rite of Spring: the 100th Running of the Blue Grass Stakes will open at the Keeneland Library Apr. 1. The exhibit features photographs that capture race highlights over the decades, as well as memorabilia from notable jockeys Bill Shoemaker, Mike Manganello and Chris Antley and celebrated runners such as Whirlaway, Riva Ridge, Spectacular Bid and Strike the Gold. The exhibit's photographs, curated from Keeneland Library collections and public submissions from professional and amateur photographers, spotlight some of the greatest moments of the time-honored spring stakes. "We are fortunate to...

Edited Press Release Keeneland Library received a history-making gift from six-time Eclipse Award-winning photographer Barbara Livingston, who has donated an estimated two million photographic negatives from the collection of famed Turf photographer Jim Raftery. Raftery's Turfotos Collection is the most comprehensive photographic collection of Thoroughbred racing in 20th century North America, chronicling the sport's human and equine legends for nearly 60 years, from the late 1930s through the early 1990s. "We are incredibly grateful to Barbara for placing this incomparable historic industry asset in our care," Keeneland Library Director Roda...

Keeneland Library has scheduled a number of events for the remainder of 2023 to expand the reach of its exhibit, The Heart of the Turf: Racing's Black Pioneers, the repository said in a release Friday. Due to demand, the Library's free exhibit and its on-site youth and adult programs have been extended through Dec. 8. Other events include: Now: Companion book available The companion book to The Heart of the Turf: Racing's Black Pioneers is available at the Library and The Keeneland Shop (in store and online) for $10. All...

Keeneland Library Director Becky Ryder will retire as of Oct. 31, 2023, following better than a decade at the helm of the Thoroughbred information repository and public research facility, and Roda Ferraro, who formerly served as Head Librarian at Keeneland Library and recently curated its popular The Heart of the Turf: Racing's Black Pioneers exhibit, has been named her successor. Ferraro will serve as the incoming Library Director effective immediately and will work alongside Ryder as she transitions to retirement this fall. Ryder began her career as a college student...

Applications for the 2023 fall intake of the Amplify Horse Racing  Mentorship Program is currently open and will conclude June 30. The program seeks to provide a first step for youth and young adults who want to learn more about the Thoroughbred industry by matching them with experienced industry professionals who can offer career guidance. The fall session will run from August through October. The suggested age range for mentee candidates is 15-25, with no restrictions based on academic achievement. All applicants must be residents of the United States, U.S....

Edited Press Release Keeneland's popular Library Lecture Series resumes in May with the first of four public events that celebrate recently published works about Thoroughbred racing whose authors conducted research at Keeneland Library. Tickets are $20 per event and will go on sale at 9 a.m., Friday, Apr. 21 at Keeneland.com/library. Proceeds from these ticketed events will benefit the Keeneland Library Foundation, which funds Library preservation, education, outreach and access efforts. The first two installments of the Library Lecture Series will feature books related to the Library's current exhibit, The...

The Heart of the Turf: Racing's Black Pioneers, an exhibit highlighting the lives and careers of 80 African American horsemen and women from the mid-1800s to the present, opens to the public at the Keeneland Library Thursday. The exhibit employs an engaging mix of interpretive panels, rare photographs, never-before-displayed artifacts, original artwork and video interviews to chronicle and bring to life the involvement of African Americans in the racing industry.

The popular Keeneland Library Series, which features new works about Thoroughbred racing, will kick off 2020 with two programs that go beyond highlighting traditional nonfiction material when Robin Traywick Williams discusses her award-winning novel, "The Key to the Quarter Pole," Tuesday, Jan. 21, and the documentary film "Born to Rein" is shown Tuesday, Feb. 4. "Our Lecture Series continues to showcase the culminating work of researchers who have tapped into the Keeneland Library's resources to generate new contributions to the industry record," Head Librarian Roda Ferraro said. "We are pleased...