A Guide to Kentucky Horse Farm Tours

Whether you’re a first time visitor, or have lived here all your life, a visit to a Kentucky horse farm is a must! There are three ways to do so; on a guided group tour, on your own, or a custom tour.

If your interest is general and your time is limited, consider taking a guided group tour. Your itinerary is planned by the tour company to offer an overview of Lexington and its horse farms. A perk of guided group tours is that some farms only allow visitors through tour companies. This means that you have access to horse farms that you may have not been able to visit on your own! A tip to remember when making reservations with a tour company is to be sure to ask in advance what the itinerary will include to see if there will be enough horse stops to satisfy your interest! Below are a list of tour guide companies (make a reservation as far in advance as possible since tours sell out, especially during peak visitor times):

• Blue Grass Tours
• Horse Farm Tours, Inc.
• Thoroughbred Heritage Horse Farm Tours
• Unique Horse Farm Tours

If you are short on time and/or are only interested in visiting one farm, calling the farm and setting up the tour on your own is your best option. A number of farms welcome individual tourists, families, and other small groups. Policies vary from farm to farm, so be sure to schedule your tour in advance. Some farms only allow visitors on certain days or limit tours at certain times of the year such as breeding season (February through mid-July), Kentucky Derby time, during the horse sales, or during race meets. Some horses may not be on view to visitors, so if you’re hoping to see a particular horse, inquire about its status in advance. Below is a list of some of the best horse farms:

• Coolmore America’s Ashford Stud
• WinStar Farm
• Jonabell Farm
• Taylor Made Farm
• Three Chimneys Farm
• Claiborne Farm
• Lane’s End Farm

If you like to travel at your own pace, have specific farms, horses, and attractions you want to see- or want the added allure of “insider” knowledge and access- you can hire a private guide for a custom tour. This is definitely the luxurious way to go. Most private tour companies have access to a wide variety of farms not open to groups or do-it-yourself tours. As you might expect, private, custom tours cost more than guided group tours but may turn out to be a somewhat comparably priced alternative if you have more than a few people in your family or group. Below are a list of companies that offer private, custom tours:

• Blue Grass Tours
• Destination Bluegrass
• Horses of Kentucky
• Kentucky Horse Tours
• Lexington in Touch, Inc.
• Lexington Private Tours
• Mint Julep Tours in Louisville
• Prime Horse Tours
• Scott Goodlett Events
• Thoroughbred Heritage Horse Farm Tours
• UnBridled Horse Tours