I keep seeing these Breeders Cup tickets going on sale for twenty twenty-six at Keeneland. How much of an economic boost does this actually give Lexington when we host these big horse racing events, and do local businesses really see the impact?

Oh, the Breeders Cup is massive for our local economy. The twenty twenty-six event is projected to generate a one hundred twenty-five million dollar economic boost to the central Kentucky region. That's not just a number on paper either. These fans come from all over the world to Lexington, utilizing the hotels, going to our restaurants, shopping at local stores, and really spreading money throughout the community.

A hundred twenty-five million dollars? That's incredible. How do they even calculate something like that?

It's based on everything visitors spend while they're here. They're capping attendance at forty-three thousand people per day over the two-day event, and most of those folks aren't from around here. They need hotel rooms, meals, transportation, maybe they do some shopping on Limestone or check out the Kentucky Horse Park. Plus you've got all the ancillary spending, the vendors, the temporary workers. This is a thirty-four million dollar purse event, so that money flows through the whole racing community too.

And this isn't Keeneland's first rodeo with the Breeders Cup, right?

This will be the fourth time Keeneland has hosted it, after twenty fifteen, twenty twenty, and twenty twenty-two. The track has really invested in making this happen too. They've got a hundred million dollar plus capital construction project underway, the biggest in their eighty-nine year history. So yes, local businesses definitely feel it. Two days in late October that can make or break some restaurant's entire year.

Listen live: The Lexington Times runs a 24/7 local news livestream — watch on YouTube or on Facebook. This transcript is from a recent on-air segment.