The Kentucky Horse Park is a working horse farm and an educational theme park located in a rural area of Lexington, Kentucky in the United States. Dedicated to man's relationship with the horse, the Park opened in 1978 and each year since has hosted a large number of special events and horse shows and attracts almost a million visitors annually. City nickname: Horse Capital of the World Location in the state of Kentucky County Fayette Mayor Teresa Isaac Area  - Land  - Water 285. ... 1978 was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ...

The Kentucky Horse Park has been a retirement home for some of the world’s greatest competition horses including thoroughbreds Cigar, voted Horse of the Decade for the 1990s, John Henry, the top money-winning thoroughbred gelding in racing history, champions Forego, Bold Forbes, and Da Hoss, the only thoroughbred to win two Breeders' Cup races in non-consecutive years. The Thoroughbred is a horse breed developed in 18th century England when English mares were bred with imported Arabian stallions to create a distance racer. ... Cigar, born April 18, 1990 at Country Life Farm near Bel Air, Maryland, is a Hall of Fame thoroughbred racehorse. ... John Henry is a thoroughbred race horse named after the folk hero John Henry. ... Bold Forbes foaled March 31, 1973 and died August 9, 2000. ... The Breeders Cup World Thoroughbred Championships is an annual series of thoroughbred horse races sponsored by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association. ...

Besides thoroughbred horses, standardbred greats such as Western Dreamer, Cam Fella and Rambling Willie have made the Kentucky Horse Park their home, as well as 5-gaited Saddlebred gelding CH Gypsy Supreme. Standardbred harness racing horses are so called because in the early years of the Trotting Registry, the standardbred stud book established in the United States in 1879 by the National Association of Trotting Horse Breeders, only horses who could race a mile in a standard time or better, or whose... Cam Fella (1979 - 2001) was a bay pacing horse by Most Happy Fella out of Nan Cam by Bret Hanover. ... Rambling Willie (April 18, 1970 - August 24, 1995) was a harness racing horse, more specifically a bay pacing gelding sired by Rambling Fury and out of Meadow Belle by Meadow Gold. ... The American saddlebred is a breed of horse that was developed in Kentucky by plantation owners. ...

The Kentucky Horse Park also has the International Museum of the Horse--the largest of its kind in the world--and the American Saddlebred Museum. It also holds the National Horse Center, which comprises of the headquarters of several organizations including:

• The American Association of Equine Practitioners
• The American Farrier's Association
• The American Hackney Horse Society
• The American Hanoverian Society
• The American Saddlebred Horse Association
• The Carriage Association of America
• Kentucky Horse Racing Authority
• Equestrian Events, Inc.
• The United States Hunter Jumper Association
• The United States Dressage Federation
• The US Equestrian Federation
• United States Pony Clubs, Inc.

The Horse Park has a twice daily Parade of Breeds, showcasing both common and rare horses from across the globe. The horses are ridden in authentic costume.

In addition, the Horse Park hosts many competitions and educational events throughout the year, including the Rolex Three Day Event, the Pony Club Championships, steeplechases, polo matches, and other horse shows for a variety of breeds and disciplines. The Rolex Kentucky Three Day is an eventing competition held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. ...

Every year from one week after Thanksgiving to New Years Day, the Kentucky Horse Park features a drive-through Christmas lights display called "Southern Lights". The night before official opening (the Wednesday after Thanksgiving) they host a fundraiser for local food banks called "Southern Lights Stroll and 5K" where participants can walk or run past the displays rather than driving.