October 17, 2020 - Lexington, Kentucky
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This morning we drove from Charleston, West Virginia to Lexington, Kentucky, getting there in time to take a horse farm tour. I had seen the horse farm tour on Trip Advisor, thought it sounded interesting, so I signed us up for one. I'm glad I did. I hadn't known much about Lexington, Kentucky but now I understand it is the "Horse Capital of the World"! Lexington is also the home of the University of Kentucky.
This is the van in which we were driven around for our tour. The drive and tour guide was Ernie, an old-timer who has spent his entire life here in the horce racing industry; as a jockey and then a trainer. He knew what he was talking about. And I know nothing about horses, so everything was new to me.
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Passing by a horse racing monument on the inside of a traffic circle.
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| A typical Lexington, Kentucky horse farm scene. White fencing surrounding fields of Kentucky Bluegrass! |
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A not too good look at the Keeneland Horse Racing Track complex. Normally the tour would include a walk through of the facility but no-can-do because of the Covid.
Keeneland, sporting live races in April and October, is steeped in tradition; little has changed since the track's opening in 1936. Keeneland hosted the 2015 Breeders' Cup, with the event's signature race, the Breeders' Cup Classic, won by Triple Crown winner American Pharoah. This track also has the world's largest Thoroughbred auction house; 19 Kentucky Derby winners, 21 Preakness Stakes winners, and 18 Belmont Stakes winners were purchased at Keeneland sales. Its most notable race is the Blue Grass Stakes, which is considered an important preparation for the Kentucky Derby.
Across the street from Keeneland is Blue Grass Airport, featuring a 7,000 by 150 ft runway, capable of accepting large jet aircraft used to transport horses.
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| Passing by the Thoroughbred Club of America, started in 1932. From a local guide: "Very Nice Classy Upscale Atmosphere... great place to sit back eat lunch & enjoy horse racing without even having to leave the Club... please understand this is for members and guests only." |
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| Horses! |
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This horse farm has its own race track.
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| The grave of one of the most famous racing horses ever -- Seattle Slew -- at Hill 'n' Dale horse farm |
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Seattle Slew won the Triple Crown in 1977 — the tenth of thirteen horses to accomplish the feat. He is one of two horses to have won the Triple Crown while having been undefeated in any previous race.
The interesting thing about Seattle Slew is that the owners bought him for only $17,500. The owners make money off the race prizes, of course, but the real money is made in stud fees. For a champion like Seattle Slew, it was hundreds of thousands dollars a pop. Seattle Slew happily sired 1,103 named foals and made the owners millions. The owners were so grateful to Seattle Slew that when he died, he was buried whole -- the highest honor there is for a winning race horse -- into a horse coffin along with his favorite blanket and a bag of peppermints, standing up, and is buried under this monument. Usually the good horses might have their head only buried. The rest -- glue factory.
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See that building in the background? You think it is part of a house or office building. It isn't. It's the horse stables. Horses are big here in Lexington.
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| We stopped at a working horse farm and had the opportunity to get up close with some of the horses. |
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| This is an automatic horse walking machine. Ernie told us how much it cost but I forgot. It was a lot, though. |
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| The tour took about three hours I think and was very enjoyable. |
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