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FEBRUARY2016
AMERICANWAY
t’sdifficulttoignoreroyalty.
Therollingblue-greenfields
andmilesofwhite fence in
Lexington,Kentucky’sBluegrass
Countryareonlyhintsas to
whatIseewhenIedgecloser.
There’snoway tosneakupon
thesupremeathletes thatnotice
me, evenbeforeIgetoutofmy
car.Archedneckspropel faces
inmydirection, anddarkeyeswatcheverymoveI
makeasIapproach the fence,flathandextended fora
velvety-nosedsniffofapproval.
Theelegantequinesuperstarsof theregionare the
reasonvisitorsaredrawn toKentuckyHorsePark,
KeenelandRaceCourseandahandfulof farms that
arehome tochampionsof thepast,presentand future.
Withmore than400horse farms in theregion,Lexing-
ton isknownas theHorseCapitalof theWorld, and it
hasproducedsomeof themost legendaryanimals in
history.
Whilehisracingdaysmaybeover,American
Pharoah is living the life inretirementatCoolmore
America’sAshfordStud.Thebaycolt’sastoundingsuc-
cessatwinning theTripleCrownand theBreeders’Cup
Classic in2015makeshim theonlyhorse tohavewon
the“GrandSlam”ofracing.Now thatHorseCountry,
anew tourcompany,hasaddedCoolmore to its listof
available farms tovisit, fanshaveachance togetacloser
lookat theking.
AheritageofBluegrassCountryhorsesandbourbon
luresmany toLexington, and it’seasy toplanan itin-
erary thatneverdetours from thosepopular features.
Locals, though,donotconfine themselves to these
traditions.Streetart, foodcultureandacraft-beer
scenehaveexplodedhere, andwhilevisitorscanstill
honor thehistorichighlights,Lexington’spassion for
innovation leads themodern-daycharge.
myfirstchoice inlexingtonmayhavebeenthe
horses,but that’spartlybecause it’smorningand the
barsaren’topenyet.ThemottoofLexington’sBrew-
grassTrailasks followers to“Respect thebourbon.
Drink thebeer.”Thecity isquicklybecoming thecenter
of thestate’scraft-beer industry, and thirstyvisitorsare
seekingout locallymadebeers inaddition tosamplesof
theclassicbourbonsofsixofKentucky’smostpopular
I
