Commissioned in 1933 by then-owner Joseph Widener as an exact replica of a barn in Normandy, France, where he sought refuge after his plane crashed during World War I, the barn features a clock tower. Its roof, gables, cupolas and dormers are adorned with ceramic cats and other animals. The farm also includes an interesting cemetery, in which a life-size bronze statue of Thoroughbred champion Fair Play overlooks the graves of Fair Play and Mahubah, sire and dam of Man o' War. Tours by appointment only. Horses of All Types You may think that a horse farm is a horse farm is a horse farm, but it just isn't so.
Most farms specialize in a specific breed of horse.
Most Bluegrass farms are Thoroughbred operations, breeding and training horses primarily for racing. Kentucky produces more Thoroughbreds than any other state. This historic and beautiful farm just a few miles north of downtown traces its beginnings to 1790, when John Breckinridge, U.S. Senator and Attorney General under Thomas Jefferson, began development of a Bluegrass estate. Interesting sites include an antebellum brick hemp house at Iron Works and Newtown Pikes, and a statue of three-time Standardbred Horse of the Year, Bret Hanover. Saddlebreds, used for show and pleasure riding, are Kentucky's only native breed of horse.