Content Produced in Partnership with Kentucky Tourism
Are you a horse lover, a racing fan …and a devotee of such American bourbon-based cocktails as Mint Juleps and Old Fashions? Then why not spend your next holiday in Kentucky, known as horse country and the Birthplace of Bourbon.
Schedule your visit to include the first Saturday in May and you can join the throngs of enthusiastic racing fans at Louisville’s world-renowned Kentucky Derby, founded in 1875, held at the Churchill Downs racetrack, and America’s longest continuously running sporting event.
The previous day’s Oaks competition for three-year-old fillies and a visit to the Kentucky Derby Museum next to the racecourse are not to be missed. Not only can you view the museum’ fascinating exhibitions, including a tribute to African-American jockeys and such equine superstars as Secretariat, winner of racings’ 1973 Triple Crown, but you also can mount a mechanical horse and enjoy a simulated race against family & friends. Then there’s the month-long Kentucky Derby Festival complete with marathons, hot air balloon displays, parades and a steamboat race down the Ohio River.
Drive 79 scenic miles to the east and you reach charming Lexington, set at the heart of the Bluegrass horse country and home to the Kentucky Horse Park. Here you’ll find the daily Parade of Breeds, numerous special events and the intriguing International Museum of the Horse. Not only does it trace the origins of the horse back five million years but it also stages exhibitions on topics ranging from horse-drawn vehicles and draft horses to the 19th-century African-American Buffalo Soldiers who, on horseback, helped tame the Wild West, and the pioneering Black Horsemen of the Kentucky Turf, including Isaac Murphy, a former slave, who was the first jockey inducted into the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame.
Lexington’s other equine attractions include Keeneland, a National Historic Landmark, which in addition to being the world’s leading thoroughbred auction house, hosts world-class racing in April and October and September yearling sales. The city is also the ideal touring base for visits to some of the numerous surrounding horse farms as well as to the 18 distilleries on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail®.
Start by visiting Lexington’s own Town Branch distillery before taking a circular tasting tour to such renowned distilleries as Jim Beam, Maker’s Mark, Woodford Reserve, Four Roses and Heaven Hill, based in such places as Louisville; Frankfort, the Kentucky State Capital; historic Harrodsburg (founded in 1774); Shelbyville, the Saddlebred Capital of the World; and Bardstown, which each September stages the Kentucky Bourbon Festival. And if you’re still in search of the Spirit of Kentucky it’s worth noting that there are over 65 distilleries throughout the state and a number of other bourbon trails.
To learn more and start planning your trip to Kentucky, visit: https://www.kentuckytourism.com/
