Today's Random Act of Kindness: A Bettor at Keeneland

In every crisis, it's possible to find examples of kindness and generosity, of people reaching out to help total strangers out of the goodness of their heart. To focus attention on the many people in the industry who have stepped forward to help those who have been impacted by the coronavirus, the TDN has launched a series that we hope will put a smile on your face during these difficult times. We'll do our best to bring you a little bit of good news every day.

When it was announced that Keeneland would not be holding its spring meet due to the coronavirus, people were justifiably worried about where they might race their horses, the loss of the GII Blue Grass S. and the overall impact the track's closing would have on the sport.

A Keeneland horseplayer had other thoughts. He worried about the road ahead for two of Keeneland's workers who had taken such good care of him on his visits to the track. As per diem employees who work only during the race meets, they would be losing a sizeable amount of income due to the shutdown.

“This is someone we always knew was a very nice person,” said Jim Goodman, Keeneland's director of wagering development.

Goodman won't release the name of the customer. “He doesn't want to be identified,” he said. But he was happy to tell his story.

The customer called Goodman Tuesday and he asked about two Keeneland employees in particular as he was worried about them. Goodman explained that, yes, they would not be working at Keeneland again until racing resumed there and that it was true that the two would be losing much-needed income.

“We hire between 1,200 and 1,500 people who work for us when there is racing,” Goodman said. “That includes the cooks, the bartenders, the servers. These are all people who won't be working. He wanted to do something for these two employees.”

Goodman and the unnamed fan made arrangements to have money transferred via Venmo. Goodman then turned around and gave it to the two employees, who he described as Keeneland hospitality employees. He would not say how much the customer had contributed but in a Tweet wrote that it was a “substantial sum.”

“This came out of the blue and it was a good amount of money,” Goodman said. “It will certainly help them out. It was an incredibly selfless gesture.”

The two workers, both women, were the type of racetrack employees who largely go unnoticed but play such a big role in the daily operations of a racetrack. A surly or incompetent worker can ruin a customer's experience at the track and keep them form coming back. But these two, Goodman said, always had a smile on their faces and went above and beyond to make the unnamed horseplayer feel special.

“This shows what our people mean to our customers,” Good man said. “Keeneland is one of the best racetracks in the world and that is because we hire good people Our people care about how our customers are treated. When people talk about Keeneland they always talk about our employees. We are very proud of them.”
Goodman said it was an emotional phone call when he reached out to the two employees to tell them that they would be receiving the donation.

“They were ecstatic,” he said. “One of them cried.”

Goodman's job entails working with Keeneland's biggest bettors and said the individual fell into that category even though he might attend the races no more than a two or three days during each meet. He said he is not from the Lexington area.

“Like I said, I always knew he was a nice person, but this gesture has elevated him to a status above even that,” Goodman said.

While the bettor did not want to be identified, Goodman was eager to get the story out in hopes that it will encourage others to help out those in horse racing who are suffering financially because of the coronavirus.

“He doesn't want any credit, but I wanted to use this as an example of how people can pay it forward,” he said. “We have to do that. Just think about all the people in the horse racing business who are out of work because of this. We all have to figure out a way to help them. This came out of the blue and it's really going to help these two get through this. What an incredible gesture.”

Do you know of an individual or an organization that is helping others in racing during this time of need? If so, please let us know. Bill Finley can be reached at [email protected].