Getting lost on the winding country roads outside the city of Lexington may be one of the best ways to experience bluegrass horse country. On such picturesque roads as Old Frankfort Pike, Midway Road, and Paris Pike, to name a few, sightseers pass countless spectacular and well-known Thoroughbred farms. Driving tours can be self-guided by following the many “Bluegrass Scenic Highway” road signs, or you can pick up a map of farm locations at the Lexington Convention & Visitors Bureau (301 East Vine St., 859-233-1221). The LCVB also offers a great guide to horse farm tours on their Web site www.visitlex.com. A must-see, however, on anyone’s driving tour is the famed Calumet Farm on Versailles Road near Keeneland Race Course and the Bluegrass airport. Calumet’s signature white fences and red-trimmed barns are quintessential Kentucky. What are some of your favorite Thoroughbred farm drive-bys around the bluegrass?
Companies specializing in guided horse farm tours:
Blue Grass Tours (859-252-5744 or 800-755-6956)
D.W. Guided Tours (859-361-4390)
Horse Farm Tours, Inc. (859-268-2906 or 800-976-1034)
Thoroughbred Heritage Tours (859-260-8687 or 800-808-9533)
Unique Horse Farm Tours (859-233-4303 or 800-678-8813)
Suburban Woman’s Club Monthly Horse Farm Tours (859-624-2338)
Some companies offering customized tours:
Blue Grass Tours (859-252-5744)
Tours of Tradition by Scott Goodlett Inc. (859-879-0319; 800-450-6444)
Unbridled Horse Tours (859-255-7863; 859-333-8940)
Kentucky Horse Tours (859-312-1124)
Horses of Kentucky (859-277-4625)
Lexington in Touch Inc. (859-224-4226)
John Midbo (859-278-9488)
Karen Edelstein, private guide (859-266-5465)
Lexington Connection, Inc. (859-269-4040)
Kentucky Living History Tours (859-293-9367)
DID YOU KNOW: Those stone fences you see scattered across the Bluegrass region have been a distinctive feature of the area since the 1820s when Irish and Scottish immigrants passed their fence-building knowledge on to slaves and later, free blacks. The fences — unique in that no mortar of any kind was used — remain the most extensive collection of quarried rock fences still standing in the U.S. (From Horse Lover's Guide to Kentucky)
Noteworthy and Upcoming Events:
Churchill Downs fall race meet, Louisville: Nov. 1-28
Kentucky’s biggest Christmas parade, Owensboro: Nov. 21
Southern Lights at the Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington: Nov. 20-Dec. 21
The Christmas Shop at Keeneland, Lexington: Nov. 1-Dec. 23
For more detailed information about bluegrass driving tours, check out the Horse Lover’s Guide to Kentucky in its entirety.
(Photos courtesy of Anne M. Eberhardt)
