Kentucky Horse Park
Horses are the heart of the Kentucky Horse Park, and park leaders recently adjusted programming to keep the equine stars satisfied.
“We wanted to make sure the horses were happy and weren’t bored doing the same old, same old,” said Lisa Jackson, director of marketing and public relations.
Now, in the mornings, Derby winners Go for Gin and Funny Cide and their compadres in the Hall of Champions barn mix and mingle with their fans, munching on grass, walking the path in front of their barn and being petted, if they are in the mood. It’s a departure from the more formal Hall of Champions presentation still offered in the afternoon, where the horses are paraded before fans in the stands as an announcer talks about each and the horses’ championship races are shown.
Such flexibility is what makes the park a logical stop. On a fair day, groups with as little as 30 minutes can meet massive draft horses and learn about their role. Those with more time can tour the 1,200-acre park in a trolley pulled by Clydesdales or shires.
When the weather is bad or there’s a day to spend, two museums offer educational entertainment. The skeleton of the 1800s Thoroughbred stallion Lexington is displayed at the International Museum of the Horse, a Smithsonian Institution affiliate.
The museum’s newest wing is devoted to the Arabian, “a magical, revered breed,” said Jackson. A museum devoted to Saddlebreds is also at the park.
Groups staying overnight in nearby Lexington could enjoy the Kentucky Sundown after-hours program, which includes a buffet dinner and entertainment options like a demonstration by a horse and rider or a museum tour.
The park is within sight of Interstate 75, so groups are welcomed to use it as a rest area. “They can see the Man O’ War and Isaac Burns Murphy memorials, which are outside our admission gates, and visit the gift shop and restrooms,” said Jackson. “In the 19th century, Murphy, a jockey was as famous as Muhammad Ali was in his day.”
www.kyhorsepark.com
Old Friends Farm
You don’t have to read the Daily Racing Form to love Old Friends Farm, home to just over 100 retired Thoroughbreds. Animal lovers or casual racing fans will enjoy a tour where the focus is as much on each horse’s personality as its past performances on the racetrack.
“I tell our tour guides, people are not here to take a test on which horse did what,” said founder Michael Blowen.
On a walking tour of about a mile on a grassy strip between paddocks, visitors get to meet 20 of the farm’s best-known residents. Tour guides talk about each equine celebrity and let visitors feed them carrots from a bucket. A couple of golf carts are available for those who need them.
Guides have their favorites, but right now, the farm’s star is Silver Charm, winner of the 1997 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. Silver Charm is Old Friends’ first Derby winner, and so adding him to the roster is like going from “Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry to Elvis,” Blowen said.
Since Silver Charm arrived, another Derby and Preakness winner, War Emblem, has followed. Five years Silver Charm’s junior, War Emblem is tall, dark and handsome but no charmer.
“Silver Charm, I like to say, is the class valedictorian, perfect in every way,” said Blowen. “War Emblem is the guy who sits in the back of the class and makes fun of the teacher. Yet he ends up doing work of absolute genius.”
Old Friends Farm is easy to reach, just north of Lexington. The farm also has satellite operations in Saratoga Springs, New York, and in southern Kentucky at Kentucky Downs racetrack in Franklin, near the Tennessee border. The nine Thoroughbreds retired there graze within sight of Interstate 65, and tours there are similar to those given at the main farm.
www.oldfriendsequine.org
Kentucky’s Racetracks
If you’re bummed because you missed the Kentucky Derby, relax, because in Kentucky, horse racing is not confined to the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs.
Thoroughbred and Standardbred racetracks are scattered around the state, and because each track’s race meet is at a different time of year, there’s usually somewhere to see live racing.
In April and October, Keeneland Race Course is the place to be for live Thoroughbred racing. Opened in the middle of the Great Depression, this plucky little track is a crowd favorite because of its country setting and beautiful architecture. It became even better known after it hosted the Breeders’ Cup in 2015.
In northern Kentucky, near Florence, Turfway Park’s race meet is typically in the wintertime, which makes its enclosed grandstand a nice feature. In Henderson, at Ellis Park, much of the summer, from early July to Labor Day, is devoted to Thoroughbred racing on a scenic track near the Ohio River.
Kentucky Downs, on the Kentucky-Tennessee border near Franklin, has the shortest of race meets — only five days in September. But it has become known for its festivallike atmosphere and a Grade III turf race.
Harness racing is offered in Paducah at Bluegrass Downs and in Lexington at the Red Mile. The Red Mile’s live racing schedule is from late July to early October; Bluegrass Downs typically has live racing for a month, from mid-June to mid-July.
Even when horses aren’t racing, these tracks are still open, showing horse races around the country by simulcast. Groups can wager on the races and dine as they watch the results, choosing from concession stand fare at some tracks and full-course meals at others.
