Champions in Lexington
I looked straight into the eyes of a Kentucky Derby winner at the Kentucky Horse Park’s Hall of Champions show. At the park’s presentation, elite horses that have earned their retirements parade in front of visitors daily.
In 2003, I watched Funny Cide win the Kentucky Derby. Now, the towering thoroughbred stood a few feet from my face. As if to prove his feisty reputation, the horse bucked on his way out of the arena.
The 1,220-acre Kentucky Horse Park illustrates some of the state’s best qualities with its green rolling hills, on-site horse farm and rich equestrian history. In 2010, the park renovated many of its traditional exhibits; renovations included expansions of the International Museum of the Horse and of the Big Barn, which houses mammoth draft horses and a historic carriage exhibit.
I could have spent all day in the expansive park listening to horses neighing and watching horse-drawn carriages go by.
Brand new to Lexington but with roots that stretch back to 1794 is the Town Branch Distillery. On my tour of the “brewstillery,” I learned how the operation started when Alltech purchased the historic Lexington Brewing and Distilling Company. After experimenting with combining bourbon and beer, the company soon realized they had a winning concoction.
“This is where the nitty-gritty happens,” said Toni Cannon, operations supervisor as we walked into the brewery. “When you start making beer and bourbon, the first few steps are the same. Beer and bourbon go well together.”
I ended my tour of Kentucky relaxing aboard the R. J. Corman Lexington Dinner Train. Opened in 2013, the train takes a route not used in many years through the area’s panoramic horse country.
Appetizers, prime rib and Derby pie proved a wonderful complement to the peaceful scenery of Calumet Farms, Keeneland racetrack and gorgeous Kentucky vistas.
Fore more information go to www.kentuckytourism.com
