keeneland racing is back

great for the industry

C1 3 keeneland.

Over the next five days... the track is having its summer meet without fans.

It's never been done this way before.

Abc 36's austin miller has your report.

L3 austin: white l3: abc 36 news white racing returns to keeneland "this is kind of the trial for bigger things to come" l3: abc 36 news white bob elliston keeneland vice president & coo l3: abc 36 news white racing returns to keeneland "this is kind of the trial for bigger things to come" l3 austin: white after having to cancel their spring meet back in april..

Race day is finally here at keeneland.

They're having to do something they haven't done in 85 years..

Hold a five-day meet in the middle of summer.

Keeneland vice president bob elliston says there's certainly been a lot of anxiousness coming into this week's races.

Bob elliston trt 13 "you always worry if we were going to have a mary tyler moore party.

Would they show up?

They're showing up in tremendous numbers.

Our field size is great, so it feels a lot like the morning before a regular opening day in april."

The horses and jockeys running may have given that feel for april..

But the empty seats are a heavy reminder that it's still not the same experience at the track.

Keeneland expects to see fans return..

But a lot depends on how well their safety procedures are performed.

Bob elliston trt 08 "we really are trying to build confidence about our protocols.

This is kind of the trial run for bigger things to come down the road."

No fans..

Means little revenue for the track..

Because they depend so much on fan attendance and concessions.

But the little amount the keeneland can generate will be huge for the coming months.

Bob elliston trt 08 "if we can break even on that.

That'll be a big win for us.

We'll get through this crisis, get through this pandemic and live to fight another day.

Now despite the rain day one has been an exciting one.

In fact, the very first race of the day came down to a photo finish between three horses.

Of course, we've still got four more days of racing ahead, including a big one saturday, the toyota bluegrass and the ashland stakes both running on the same day.

From keeneland..

Austin