Kentucky Horse Park

31 October 2007
For the second time in 21 years, we visited the Kentucky Horse Park just north of Lexington, Ky. This is a very large facility devoted to everything involving horses. There are two large museums on the property along with indoor and outdoor arenas and race tracks. Among the more interesting and strange things to be found here are the burial places of famous horses, including Man O war, some of his offspring and numerous others.

You can take an escorted trail ride, study the history of the horse from prehistoric times thru the present day, get a close specimens of most of the most famous breeds from around the world, or study the long history of horse racing in the United States.

They also have an area referred to as the hall of champions, which is the retirement residence of a half dozen or so famous race horses. The most famous current resident is Cigar which is ranked 18th in the all time highest ranked winners and the only one of the top 25 still living. There was a second member until he passed away earlier this month-John Henry. It was a bit strange to see the grave site outside the hall and the shrine which use to be the horse’s stall.

Clearly horses come first here.

Overall, it was an enjoyable visit and certainly the place to be if you have any interest in horses.