Kentucky is America’s “Bluegrass State”, a reference to a species of grass (Poa pratensis) that covers its rolling hills and valleys and does indeed have a touch of blue to it in the dewy spring sunshine. This is countryside at its most picturesque – lush meadows, showcase farms with mile upon mile of white picket fences, old Shaker villages and the Antebellum houses that inspired Tara in Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind. Even the name Kentucky is said to come from the native Iroquoian language and means “on the meadow or prairie”.
The bluegrass is woven deep into the soul of this place, famously giving its name to a variety of American folk music, but also – perhaps less famously – bestowing its nutritional benefits on raising the planet’s finest racehorses.
Ah yes, you may say, the Kentucky Derby! And while you’d be correct, in that one of the world’s premier horse racing events does indeed take place in the state’s most populous city, Louisville, it is in fact Lexington – 80 miles to the east – that’s regarded as “the Horse Capital of the World”.
Lexington lies in the very heart of horse country, a historic town that was founded the year before the Declaration of Independence. It does indeed still feel like a town, though it calls itself a city – and if you scratch the surface of its sleepy southern charm, you’ll discover a multi-billion dollar equestrian industry.
This includes Keeneland, one of the most beautiful race courses in the world, set in 145 acres of parkland and filled with maples, sycamore and pines, with glorious blossom in the spring and equally breathtaking autumn colour. And Keeneland also just happens to hold the most important bloodstock auctions in the world, with the lion’s share of international thoroughbred sales.
So just what is it about Kentucky horses? The secret of their success appears to lie in the rolling Kentucky limestone hills that lie beneath those delicate thoroughbred hooves. The bluegrass is nourishing, the water is rich in bone-building calcium, and galloping over this terrain builds muscle from the moment a foal is on its feet.
Perhaps it’s no surprise that when buyers spend millions on a horse here, they don’t take it home, they leave it right where they found it. Some even buy their own farms – the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, for instance, has Jonabell Farm just outside of Lexington (Johnny Depp had another until recently). The Sheikh travels with two planes – one for him, one for the horses – quite a sight when they land on the miniscule Keeneland airstrip.
The stud farms – horse palaces, really – are a sight to behold, so it’s well worth taking a tour (for example, with Visit Horse Country) to Claiborne Farm (the late Queen liked it so much she went on several occasions) or Runnymede Farm, the oldest continuously owned thoroughbred farm in the state.
Stud farms are spotless, with spacious stables often featuring chandeliers and swimming pools, and the horses are subject to daily showers, endless grooming and hoof polishing. Outside, stallions – each with his own paddock – gleam majestically in the sunshine, while foals frolic with their dams on every hillside. Talk about bucolic.
Thoroughbreds are not the only horses, either. At the Kentucky Horse Park, there are representatives of every breed from the classic American Quarter horse and English Shire horses to delicately boned Arabs. Every week of the year sees an equestrian event – polo matches and driving competitions, dressage and showjumping – and there’s plenty of five-star hospitality too, served with ladles of laid-back southern charm.
You might want to sit yourself on a porch on an Adirondack chair, nursing a fine bourbon in Lexington’s Distillery District. Or breakfast on grits in a former tack shop built in 1800. Or else enjoy some very fine dining on Kentucky’s famous steaks. Walk it all off on a stroll through historic Lexington – look out for the childhood home of First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln and Ashland (a 17-acre wooded estate with an English parterre garden) – or take a tour. There are lots of options to see horses, sample the local cuisine or discover Lexington’s history. But after the horses, it’s really all about the bourbon.
An excellent trail lies to the west of Lexington around Bardstown, and the distilleries themselves tend to be historic buildings dating back to the 1800s and often using the methods from the same era. At Woodford Reserve, makers of “small batch” bourbon, they produce just 100 barrels a week in three traditional pot-shaped copper stills.
Maker’s Mark distillery credits its unique taste to their 10-acre limestone spring water lake (a major ingredient), while Jim Beam is still owned by the seventh generation of the same family using the same recipe (it must be working, as it’s the best-selling bourbon in the world).
Though it would be unwise to couple a bourbon tour with time behind the wheel (there’s quite a lot of tasting involved), hitting the Kentucky roads is a pleasure in itself, and one well worth sampling. The countryside is astonishingly beautiful and there are some wonderfully eclectic options for stops along the way.
My favourite was the Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill, home for more than a century to one of the largest Shaker communities in the US, and set in 3,000 acres with an impressive collection of inspirational craftsmanship and artefacts. You can stay at their Inn in a restored Shaker house, or in one of their private cottages, or there’s Stay & Ride if you want to hit the equestrian trails.
Of course, no horse-themed visit would be complete without a visit to Louisville, or “Looaville” as they say here – the coolest Kentucky city with more art galleries than coffee shops. The Derby is held at the historic twin-spired Churchill Downs track on the first Saturday in May. It’s the first of the three races that make up the Triple Crown, arguably the most prestigious – and indeed the most difficult – prize a horse can win.
It’s run with pomp, statement hats, lavish entertainment and an awful lot of mint juleps. At Keeneland, there are race meetings in October and April, and tours all year round. You’ll probably find the odd glass of bourbon there too, which is only appropriate. Kentucky’s tag – and you’ll see it on many a bumper – neatly combines this state’s two main exports: “Unbridled Spirit”. What else?
ESSENTIALS
America As You Like It has the 14-night self-drive Sips, Sights and Sounds of Kentucky tour from £1,565pp, including flights from the UK to Cincinnati, accommodation and care hire. The itinerary includes two nights in Covington, Lexington, Nashville, Memphis and Louisville, and one night each in Renfro Valley, Bardstown, Paducah and Owensboro.