Versailles (Kentucky, that is) is located just outside Lexington and is another bluegrass horse farm hotspot. Its scenic country roads, quaint community charm, and resident bourbon distillery Ð Woodford Reserve Ð make it a place to include on a driving tour or daytrip. Famous area farms include Ashford Stud, Lane’s End Farm, Buck Pond Farm, Pin Oak Stud É the list doesn’t end!

One of the more spectacular roads to drive down is Midway Road, home to Lane’s End Farm. Currently, Curlin, the 2007 and 2008 Horse of the Year, stands at stud at Lane’s End along with his sire, Smart Strike, and A.P. Indy, a son of 1977 Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew. It’s here that owner William S. Farish, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, has hosted Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain.

Another Versailles Thoroughbred farm to make special note of is Ashford Stud, a branch of famed Coolmore Stud in Ireland. Ashland boasts a park-like setting and blue-trimmed stone buildings, and it is one of the biggest farms in Kentucky, based on the number of stallions. Among those stallions are 2000 Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus, 1995 Derby winner Thunder Gulch, and Giant’s Causeway, a son of Storm Cat and considered by many one of the best young sires in the world