LEXINGTON, Ky. — When Drew Fleming was promoted from Chief Operating Officer to Chief Executive Officer for the Breeders' Cup last November, the 38-year-old could not have imagined what awaited him in his first year on the job.
"I think it's been a challenging year for the world in general and especially sports," Fleming said Tuesday.
After all, we remain in the midst of a coronavirus pandemic, one that has forced the postponement or cancellation of numerous sporting events, but not Thoroughbred racing's premier event, the Breeders' Cup World Championships, which will take place as scheduled on Friday and Saturday at Keeneland.
"Fortunately for me, I've surrounded myself with a fantastic team," Fleming said. "We have a great partnership with Keeneland and we've been working tirelessly to make sure we're able to have the world championships and we're putting health and safety first."
Alas, fans will not be allowed on the grounds this weekend, a decision the Breeder's Cup board made back in September, opting to limit on-site attendance to participants only.
"That was certainly a very difficult decision and not one that we wanted to make," Fleming said. "Our fans are the backbone of our industry."
It was also a sign of the times. All three Triple Crown races this year — the Belmont on June 20, Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5 and Preakness on Oct. 3 — were held without fans. Most if not all the major Thoroughbred races from March on were held in front of mostly empty grandstands.
"We waited as long as we could," Fleming said, "but we made the decision when we did because we have fans coming in from all over the world and we wanted to let them know as much as we could in advance."
Still, the quality of the fields for the 14 Breeders' Cup races are again world class. There are 184 entrants this year, including 37 international horses, 48 Breeders' Cup Challenge winners and four returning Breeders' Cup champions.
So that the fans at home can get a better look at those horses, the Breeders' Cup worked with NBC along with its digital and social media entities to make what Fleming says will be "the most robust on-site production of any horse racing event ever."
For example: There will be over 80 television cameras covering the event. There will be a "Contender Cam" which will be available at Breederscup.com and will have 14 individual views of each horse from the time the horse enters the paddock to when the horse enters the starting gate. That is to help bettors who like to get a look at the horses in the paddock.
There will also be a "Back Cam," a high-speed camera on two cranes that will make sure viewers get the best view of the horses running down the backstretch. There will also be two jockey cameras. Those features will be on the website as well as NBC.
Best of all, Fleming and the board wanted to make sure that Keeneland would not be penalized for the bad luck of being host to the event during a pandemic. That's why when the no fans proclamation was announced, it was twinned with the announcement Keeneland would be host again in 2022.
"In a year where there were many difficult decisions, this was not one of them," Fleming said. "It was the right thing to do. I was personally devastated that we won't have fans on site this year. And our board and our company and everybody was unanimous that as soon as we could come back to Keeneland we would."
As for Breeders' Cup 2020, everything is set on go. Health and safety protocols are in place. In an important move, despite the obvious lack of revenue, the purses for this year's Breeders' Cup are the same as last year. Even the weather is supposed to co-operate this weekend.
"God bless Kentucky and this weather," said Fleming of the forecast. "I've been looking at it every day for awhile."
