In my last post, I shared photos from my recent visit to Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. In this post, I will share photos from morning workouts I photographed at Keeneland in Lexington, one of Kentucky’s other four race courses. If you’re not familiar with Keeneland, you’re in for a treat; it’s simply a gorgeous facility!
Loving how sunrise is so much later in the western part of the time zone! 7 AM and the moon is still out! I’ve got my 135mm f/2 and my 100-500mm, my two favorite horse lenses!
Horses can be seen schooling in the paddock early in the morning.
The horse weathervane is an unmistakable landmark of Keeneland.
Jockey Florent Géroux onboard a Brad Cox trainee.
It’s bath time for Next Dot in the John Hancock barn!
Up to the Mark, pictured above, is owned by Mike Repole and trained by Todd Pletcher. A few days after I took this photo, he finished a very respectable third in the G1 Maker’s Mark Mile. On Kentucky Derby day, however, he won the G1 Turf Classic Stakes at Churchill Downs in style. It was a very emotional moment for Repole, as his horse Forte, the heavy favorite in the Derby, had been scratched from the race by a veterinarian earlier that morning due to a bruised foot.
This is Cairo Consort, a Pletcher trainee who has a Grade III win to her credit with the Sweetest Chant Stakes at Gulfstream Park earlier this year.
Tapit Trice, who, after four consecutive wins (two of them graded stakes), finished seventh in the Kentucky Derby.
Lyndsey Buttice rides Scooter the pony. A photo I took of Lyndsey riding Mudpie at the Oklahoma Track in Saratoga was featured in a Saratoga Living spread last fall, and that’s how we first connected.
David Fiske, manager of Winchell Thoroughbreds, gives Disarm a pet. Disarm, a long shot, finished fourth in the Derby. He broke his maiden at Saratoga last summer.
A portrait of Disarm.
To see more of my equine photography be sure to follow me on Instagram and Facebook. All photos in this post © Samantha Decker and may not be reused without permission.
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One thought on “Kentucky Trip Part II: Keeneland Mornings”
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Beautiful!