The Ultimate Weekend in Lexington, Kentucky for a Sports Fan

A locals-approved itinerary for sports-centric trip to the home of horses, bourbon, and basketball

Kentucky march seven states and on the side serves as a quasi - gateway to the south . Lexington sits a trivial north , but is three hours from Nashville and Indianapolis . You may think of Kentucky ( and by nonpayment , Lexington ) as the genteel Bourbon dynasty - sipping , racehorse - loving home of theKentucky Wildcats . But it ’s also just an hour from Cincinnati , OH — so , is Kentucky Union ? Is it south ? One of the metropolis ’s most democratic tourist attractions , the Lexington Cemetery , is the final resting place formore than 500 Confederate and 1,100 Union veterans . Do n’t mistake this split story for a want of personal identity , though . It all add up together to make Lexington a vibrant , fun city with a lot of personality . It boasts incredibly nice people , a metric ton of chronicle to prize , and extremist - passionate sports fans .

And Lexington has enough sports oblation to go around . Are you bet for a hoops - deep mecca — a chance to genuflect at the altar ofRupp Arena , home of the University of Kentucky ’s hoops teams ? Maybe you associate Lexington with its rich knight history , and you ’re looking for a dissimilar brand of immerse in custom ? sawhorse racing , despite what you may have heard to the opposite , is most in spades a summercater . It ’s a borderline organized religion here . Or perhaps you just require to toast Kentucky bourbon , eat on a steak , watch sports on a wall of telly , and take it all in ?

There ’s something for everyone here , include the most memorable round of mini - golf game you ’ll probably ever play , and the chance to eat , toast , and have pizza in a school , courthouse , and Christian church . You ’re about to embark on a three - to - four - day sports fans ’ journey in the northmost southerly town in America and we ’ve got your route engage in here .

Lexington, Kentucky in the evening under a cloudy sky

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Who I am : J.R. Fickle , a horse racing partizan who has drop the preceding tenner traveling all over Kentucky to brood horse rush at many different tracks . I ’m a regular at theKentucky Derbyin nearby Louisville , Turfway Park in Florence(the Kentucky Florence an hour away , not the Italian one ) and of line , Keeneland(see below ) .

Before you go

require to know : First , Scripture slate ahead to the race track atKeeneland , Lexington ’s chancellor horse racing facility just a 10 minute drive from business district . Second , do n’t forget Kentucky ’s history — you might accidentally shlep past something enormously historical . Study up on Lexington ’s past ( here ’s a good start ; themural challengeis particularly fun ) before you go and make it a point to actively assay out some cool stuff and nonsense versus regret a week subsequently that you walked past theMary Todd Lincolnhouse without realizing it .