Breeders' Cup Tours Providing Fans With Opportunity For Unique Experience

Darley is one of the many farms available to tour during Breeders' Cup week. (Photos by Melissa Bauer-Herzog)
When the Breeders’ Cup World Championships roll into Lexington, Ky. during the last week of October, the equine action available to racing fans won’t be restricted to host Keeneland Race Course.
Horse farms, vet clinics and even a feed mill have come together to create a series of guided tours under the name of Horse Country Breeders’ Cup Festival Week Horse Farm Tours taking place from Oct. 25 through Oct. 28 to let locals and visitors to the Lexington-area see some of the most famous farms in the Bluegrass.
The tours pair two of the participants to give fans the chance to see two of their interests in one tour.
“For the Festival Week experiences, we wanted to offer a variety of unique experiences for people to choose from - things that would allow them to touch and feel the home place of so many Breeders' Cup horses and connections,” said Anne Hardy, executive director of Horse Country. “In these pairings, there’s something for everyone - visitors can experience a tour combining two of our stud farms and see those famous locations and a few of their star sires, or they can choose a tour that includes integral and fascinating parts of our industry like the incredible veterinary care our equine athletes receive at Hagyard [Equine Medical Institute] and Rood & Riddle.”
The tour tickets went on sale in July and already have generated plenty of interest. Those who have already bought tickets are coming from 39 states, Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom, in addition to those in Kentucky who are taking advantage of the fan experiences around Lexington during Breeders’ Cup week.
“For the Breeders’ Cup Festival week, fans can expect to hear the stories of what it means to raise a Breeders’ Cup participant,” said Price Bell, president of the Horse Country board. “The Breeders’ Cup is the goal for every breeder and every person who works with these athletes. To hear the stories of what Breeders’ Cup winners were like growing up or to meet Breeders’ Cup champions themselves will be tremendous, and we are so excited to welcome the world to our farms so they can share in the excitement of the Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland.”
FANS WILL GET A CHANCE TO SEE TWO-TIME BREEDERS' CUP WINNER GOLDENCENTS AT SPENDTHRIFT

Fans aren’t the only ones looking forward to the tours. Twenty farms, two vet clinics and Hallway Feeds are taking part. The tours include well-known farms such as WinStar, Taylor Made and Coolmore’s Ashford Stud as well as lesser-known Thoroughbred nurseries like the ones that raised stars such as Zenyatta and Sweet Catomine.
“I think some of the most exciting pairings are those that include hidden gems and require the insider’s eye — farms visitors may not know by name that have raised and bred great champions, like Winter Quarter, where Zenyatta was foaled and raised, or Keene Ridge, which you might know if you’re a fan of English Channel,” said Hardy. “Hosting the Breeders’ Cup on our ‘home turf’ is such a privilege. We have something here that is elemental to the sport and we want to share it. Being able to visits these locations in addition to all the other special events during the week of the festival will make for a real ‘bucket-list’ experience.”
The Horse Country tours will continue after the Breeders’ Cup with the company currently developing a website that will allow fans multiple options when it comes to what they want from a tour.
“Whether they want to take a guided tour that’s curated by one of our tour operator partners or find an experience they can visit independently, whether they'd like to choose a stud farm, nursery, or clinic, or choose based on geography or time of tour available, we’ll be helping visitors to connect with our members,” Hardy said. “We’re still developing that platform, but people can contact info.horsecountry@gmail.com or visit www.kentuckyhorsecountry.org."
As for Breeders’ Cup week, those interested in the tours can learn more and purchase tickets here. The tours are part of a week-long festival leading up to the Oct. 30-31 Breeders’ Cup that gives those visiting the area a chance to see the Lexington area.
To learn more about all the festival events, you can visit http://www.breederscupfestival.com.
Tour Pairings

Tour Name

Farm Pairings

Angela Renee

Runnymede Farm and Siena Farm

A.P. Indy

WinStar and Lane’s End

Arazi

Saxony and Brookdale

Artie Schiller

Mill Ridge and Darley

Ashado

Taylor Made and Winter Quarter

Awesome Again

Rood and Riddle and Adena

Blame

Claiborne and Runnymede

Broken Vow

Pin Oak and Ashford

English Channel

Keen Ridge and Hallway Feeds

Ghostzapper

Adena and Rood and Riddle

Giant’s Causeway

Pin Oak and Ashford

Goldencents

Gainsway and Spendthrift

Havre de Grace

Taylor Made and Mill Ridge

Justenuffhumor

Mt. Brilliant and Hallway Feeds

Lady Eli

Runnymede and Claiborne

Mucho Macho Man

Adena and Mt. Brilliant

Octave

Hagyard and Mill Ridge

Proud Truth

Darby Dan and Rood and Riddle

Shackleford

Darby Dan and Hagyard

Spain

Mill Ridge and Hagyard

Speightstown

Rood and Riddle and Taylor Made

Sweet Catomine

Taylor Made and Mill Ridge

Tiznow

Lane’s End and WinStar

Unbridled’s Song

Taylor Made and Keene Ridge

Will Take Charge

Three Chimneys and Darby Dan

Winter Memories

Hagyard and Darby Dan

Zenyatta

Winter Quarter and Darley