The International Museum of the Horse, in the centre of the park, is a superb walk through the history of the animal. There is even a tribute to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police which has a policy that all of its horses must have Man o' War's blood in their pedigree. The shining jewel for horse racing fans is the stunning collection of championship trophies from famous Calumet Farm. Next up on the horse tour is Keeneland, which is in a dead-heat with upstate New York's Saratoga Racecourse as the most beautiful racetrack in North America. Though racing only takes place here for brief spring and fall meetings, the track is open year-round for training.
People plan their holidays around the horse meets.
Keeneland is one of the few tracks in North America where visitors can check out the barn area and on race day get an up-close view of horses being saddled in the paddock. Then there is the possibility of roaming the countryside for private tours of horse farms. Because of rising horse values and insurance costs, the farms no longer have an open-gate policy for tourists. At Claiborne Farm, for example, the attraction is the final resting place of the great Secretariat. Lexingtonians would like to be seen as more of a destination than an observation from the highway and are willing to bet it's worth the time to stop.