Keeneland, Lexington, Kentucky

The gates spring open for the 2016 Appalachian Stakes on Keeneland's turf course, one of the graded races packed into its short April meet. Keeneland opened in October 1936 among the horse farms outside Lexington and races only in spring and fall, which makes each meet feel like an event. Its Blue Grass Stakes is a key Kentucky Derby prep, it has hosted the Breeders' Cup four times, in 2015, 2020, 2022 and 2026, and its sales pavilion next door is billed as the world's largest thoroughbred auction house.