The Soul of Keeneland
The Keeneland Library has been called the “soul of Keeneland” because it reflects our commitment to promote, and most importantly, preserve the heritage of the Thoroughbred and Thoroughbred racing and breeding.
The library itself has been a central part of Keeneland’s mission since 1939. That’s when Keeneland trustee and director Arnold Hanger formed the nucleus of the Keeneland Library by acquiring and donating the 2,300 volume turf collection of Robert J. Turnbull.
The Modern-Day Keeneland Library
In 2002, Keeneland opened a state-of-the-art library, making it one of the world’s largest repositories for information related to the Thoroughbred.
The impetus for building a new library came in April 2000 when the Daily Racing Form donated its entire archival collection to the Keeneland Library. A new facility was needed to properly store and house the collection that included editions of the Daily Racing Form and Morning Telegraph dating back to the mid-1800s—many of which were sole surviving copies. The collection not only required additional space, but other special considerations as well, such as a humidity and climate controlled rare book room.