Kentucky Horse Park — Attraction in Lexington

I should have written this back in 2020. The Kentucky Horse Park experience was one of the greatest experiences of my life. Being an avid horse racing fan, I was awestruck by meeting many wonderful equine athletes. I was lucky enough to get a backstage pass to see the rockstars, Funny Cide, Go For Gin, Da Hoss, Point Given and many others. The caretakers and grooms were very accommodating, in letting me pet, handle, and even feed treats to these majestic animals.

Funny Cide was the main attraction. However, he had been shod the morning of, and was still a bit sore and cantankerous. Nonetheless, he posed for some great photos and allowed to stroke his head before turning back into his stall.

Point Given was up next, and he was FULL OF HIMSELF. He possessed wonderful energy, and greedily took the treats from my hand. He allowed me to rub his nose and brush his forelock. Once the treats were gone, so was his patience. He was such a magnificent, striking horse!

Next up…Go For Gin. This horse has always had a special place in my heart as he was the first Derby horse I had ever wagered on. The fact that he was standing in front of me felt like a dream. I was surprised that he didn’t act like a stud at all, with his calm demeanor. The caretaker, John told me to rub his gums. Initially, I thought he was kidding. After owning many horses, I know better than to stick my hand inside their mouth. Nonetheless, John insisted. Go For Gin peeled his nose and lips back, and I was rubbing my fingers around his gum line, and HE LOVED IT! It was beyond comical. He stuck his long tongue out and licked my hand. He stood and behaved perfectly, allowing me to rub his head and scratch his ears, back, and withers. I started walking out his stall, and he followed me out. John supplied me with more treats, and I, in turn, obliged Go For Gin with more gum-rubbing. I was trying to be respectful of the horse and caretaker’s time. However, Go For Gin didn’t want me to leave, and I felt the same. The staff patiently allowed us a few more minutes together, and I cherished each one. This was the highlight of many highlights that day.

Finally, we made our way over to Da Hoss. It was here that John said “tell him to give you a kiss”. So I told Da Hoss “give me a kiss”. He actually KISSED me, multiple times. A 2-time Breeder’s cup champion was eating out of my hand and nuzzling me with his nose! His racing career is one of the greatest, practically unbelievable stories ever told. He was a true champion in every sense of the word. Yet, he was still humble enough to allow me into his world.

I am incredibly thankful to the staff for giving me this tour. Now that all four of these magnificent creatures have passed, I am more grateful to the Kentucky Horse Park team that made this dream happen. If anybody is considering a trip to Kentucky Horse Park, YOU MUST DO IT! The property is immaculately kept. The staff are very friendly, knowledgeable, and tolerant of needy patrons. It is evident how much they love their horse tenants, as each animal looks, and is treated like a movie star. It is the equivalent of Disney World for any...

This trip was my husband's h my second visit to Kentucky Horse Park. We got there later than I wanted so after a lengthy visit to the gift shop (my husband loves shopping!) we only had about 2 1/2 hours to visit/stroll around before after closing. We headed for the 'show' on past Kentucky Derby winners Funny Cide and Go For Gin. Learning about these two Derby winners (and their familial connection), was totally fascinating to me! For me, seeing in person not one but TWO past Kentucky Derby Winners is a memory I'll treasure. The spokesman (who is one of the grooms for these two horses) was knowledgable, very animated talking about these two Winners. Everyone got a big kick out of it when Go For Gin would reach over the fence & 'knock' on the spokesman's shoulder, as if reminding the spokesman that he, Go For Gin, was the star of the show! After all questions & comments had been asked, the crowd dispersed, with me & my husband going to look at the beautiful draft horses. In addition to the show on Funny Cide & Go For Gin, Kentucky Horse Park also has a fun and interesting horse show of various horses like the Percheron, where guests learn more about these horses. Before the corona virus, visitors were allowed to walk though most of the barns & visit the horses there. (Hopefully before much longer, visitors will be allowed in these barns once again.) There is also a nice relaxing trolley ride pulled by some gorgeous draft horses. Of course, there's also the giant chairs that are, I believe, used for the horses, but visitors of all ages love to climb & sit on. They make great photos! It's a beautiful park with beautiful horses and fascinating stories and histories. I just don't recommend going when it's 103° including the heat index - HOTTER THAN HOT!!! (Both times my husband & I have visited Kentucky Horse Park have been in July, and on the hottest day in July!...

Our visit to the Kentucky horse Park was amazing! This trip was planned to celebrate our daughter’s 13th birthday. She loves horses and what better place to go than the horse capital?! During our visit, we got to celebrate Mr. muscleman‘s birthday with a wonderful woman who came to surprise him with treats. I’d love to be able to thank Miss Tonya myself for the wonderful welcome. She gave us the information she shared and just the time she took to talk with our family. The rest of the park was just as amazing. Informative, educational and absolutely beautiful. The only drawback was the confusion around whether we could get in again in the next day. The park was hosting The Defender Kentucky Three-Day event starting the day after our visit. Kind staff told us we would still be able to use our tickets the following day for feee admission so our daughter could ride again. The website Stated only people with defender tickets would be able to get in. Because of the traffic on our trip was so short we weren’t able to get back the second day and use our free admission, but that’s OK. We certainly look forward to visiting this beautiful park again in the future. As much as we spent the whole day there, I still feel there’s lots more to look at and take in, especially in the museum and how extensive the information is in there. All staff we encountered were amazingly personable and knowledgeable. The best gift was when my daughter said she wanted to cry but didn’t want to in public. She said she was just so happy to be there at the park. She rode Sampson and got to see horses all day. She was overcome with joy and that’s a tough thing to do with this kiddo sometimes. Thank you for a beautiful park...