Kentucky horse country

Spending time in Louisville, Kentucky, is always a treat. After all, our kids and grandkids live there and we have visited many times. This time, however, we shared it with my sister and our "favorite" bro-in-law and we did things differently, visiting horse farms instead of distilleries (well, we did fit a few of them in!). Our final destination was to be a "bucket list" item - the Kentucky Derby! First, we pulled into Taylorsville Lake State Park for our two-week stay. This was kind of like a homecoming for us since this was the very spot where we first parked our brand new RV in October.

Kentucky is a beautiful state - I especially love the rolling fields criss-crossed by the wooden fencing (usually black) of the many horse farms in the area. This is where we would spend a few days, starting with a smaller "nursery" farm and a more traditional stud horse farm, both with their own unique qualities. I loved the tour given by the horse farm owner, a personal tour showing us the

beautiful barns and explaining how a mare and their babies are taken care of by the small staff at the farm. A cloudy day with forecasted rain turned cool but dry, perfect day to walk the farm and see the horses and the barns.
It was an interesting story - how the family of five (mom, dad and three young girls) run the farm mostly by themselves, raising the foals until they are ready for sale. The sale price is based on the lineage of their father. The mares are pretty much kept pregnant and barefoot but are well cared for on the Kentucky bluegrass hills. Then, off to Three Chimney's, a premier stud farm in Kentucky - home to Seattle Slew and other famous horses. Much more formal, this presentation showed off the beautiful horses in their barns and talked about the cost of stud services and how the products of these services go on to race across the world. Mares are brought in almost daily during "season" for breeding - we saw the deed up close and

personal. Too much? Sorry....

Of course you can't visit Kentucky without tasting bourbon. We decided to visit a new distillery, one that just started bottling the bourbon that was barreled quite some time ago. Little known fact: bourbon distilleries also will make vodka, gin and moonshine since these spirits don't need the years-long "aging" in the barrels. We actually did a vodka tasting at Jeptha Creed Distillery which did include a moonshine product as well as 6 or 7 vodkas (including their version of "apple pie") which were quite tasty. We pre-purchased a bottle of their new bourbon which we were able to pick up just before leaving Kentucky. We will enjoy it in Wisconsin when we visit for the better part of the summer.

We also visited the Buffalo Trace distillery and went to the Evan Williams Experience (in downtown Louisville) while in town. That last "experience" was really cool - more of a history of the bourbon making process rather than the science of the booze. Our guide lead us through the streets of old Louisville talking about prohibition and how the Evan Williams brand produced bourbon even during that short period in history (it was considered "medicinal" - I concur!). A tasting in an old speakeasy was part of the tour. We had toured Maker's Mark and Woodford Reserve a few years ago - so many, so little time!

We spent part of one day at Keeneland Race Track - a discounted ticket from one of the horse farm tours allowed us the opportunity to watch live horse racing for the first time! It is very addictive, even if I didn't know what I was betting on. Didn't make any money that day - but it was so fun!! I would definitely go there again.

Finally, the Louisville Slugger museum - home of the world's largest baseball bat! Couldn't resist a picture! Thanks to the Bechly's for joining us on this adventure!
But the best was yet to come - next chapter: THE KENTUCKY DERBY