The drive from southern Kentucky to Lexington was beautiful.
Until you see them, you wouldn't believe the beautiful houses and horse farms in and around Lexington. Miles and miles of fence-lined roads and perfectly manicured lawns and pasture.
The Kentucky Horse Park was the next destination.
There were so many interactive things to participate in.
Lucas is 10.1 hands in horse height.
Hannah is 7.3 hands in horse height.
The Kentucky Horse Park has its own police security. We were there on a Tuesday and it was relatively quiet so this was a fairly funny sight. We had a hard time imagining what kinds of things this guy must be watching out for.
This is the Big Barn - it is 476 feet long and 75 feet wide, with 52 horse stalls.
It remains one of the largest wooden horse barns in the world.
We took a horse-drawn trolley tour around the Park. It was fun to see all of the features of the park. The Hall of Champions houses several famous horses, including three Kentucky Derby winners.
This is Cigar.
$185 shy of career earnings of ten million dollars!
{im}patiently waiting for the pony rides.
Wee!
Lucas rode Twix and Hannah rode Dudley.
That night, we ate at J.J. McBrewster's. It had been featured in Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.
The next day we drove to Louisville. Churchill Downs and the twin spires is one of Louisville's most famous landmarks. The Kentucky Derby Museum (it's all in one place) was excellent, too. Watching "The Greatest Race" was a cool experience. It is the first 360-degree high definition presentation in the world.
The Garland of Roses is presented to the Derby winner and is one of the most highly coveted floral arrangements in the world.
Racing a pretend horse in their very own "Derby" simulation game.
Where the horses are saddled prior to the race.
The corridor that the owners, trainers and horses walk through to get to the track.
Aerial view of the courtyard.
There are 52,000 permanent seats.
In 2012, the 138th running of the Kentucky Derby, the attendance was 165,307!
The finish line.
View of the twin spires from the suite Queen Elizabeth watched the Derby from.
Winner's circle.
Lucas and Daddy.
We saw the ins and outs of Churchill Downs, including the expensive suites!
It makes me want to drive back to Louisville in May to see the derby live. Who wants to go with?!?!
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