Year 3 in Kentucky — and the first year at The Manchester. Rain most days, one heartbreak (no ride for Evelyn, and the horses didn't show for the workout tour), but Hagyard stole the show and BreyerFest was a happy, efficient blur of model horses. ~300 miles driven, a trunk full of bourbon, and postcards mailed home.
⭐ Verdict: Manchester & Hagyard are keepers • lock in a real ride for 2027Getting there was a slog — summer flight delays meant we didn’t land in Lexington until after midnight, even on Delta connecting through Atlanta. Landed after midnight Checked into The Manchester for the first time — a hit. Valet faster than 21c The requested luxury car wasn’t available, so National handed us an SUV for free and didn’t charge for gas — a happy accident. Free SUV upgrade, no gas charge Evelyn was in good spirits, and we eased into the trip.
Hagyard Equine Medical Institute was the highlight of the whole trip. Everyone loved it — Gigi & Grandpa too Getting up close to the equine hospital, the hyperbaric chamber, all of it — a home run for a horse-mad family.
Then BreyerFest opened: picked up Evelyn's VIP box (you don't have to carry it around — grab it and go), watched the Saddlebred/pony show, and posed with the life-size Breyer horse. The Saddlebred Museum was a nice bonus. Saddlebred Museum
Early to Churchill Downs for the Thoroughbred Workout Tour — and the horses never came out to the track. No horses = refund requested ($235) A letdown, but we still loved the Twin Spires and the Derby history (hello, American Pharoah). We’d happily do this tour again — next time we’ll confirm horses are scheduled to work out.
Walked the Buffalo Trace grounds (rain and lines both mornings; never saw Eagle Rare there — found it at the Kroger in Versailles instead). BT lines were a grind Eagle Rare @ Kroger Versailles Back to BreyerFest to shop the vendors, then a values-aligned 4 PM vigil Mass at St. Peter’s and dinner at Epping’s — good, not incredible (Evelyn wasn’t wild about the ribeye). St. Peter’s Mass Epping’s: fine
One more slow morning at the Manchester (boxing-glove hijinks with the lobby’s giant punching bag), packed the bourbon into its travel crate, and mailed postcards to Gigi, Nana/Baba, Evelyn and the boys. Postcard tradition Wrapping the three E.H. Taylor bottles burned a whole roll of bubble wrap — ended up buying paper towels in the Kroger parking lot to finish the job. Bring more bubble wrap And the late flight + summer delays struck again — landing back in Madison around midnight. Home ~midnight book earlier next year
| Hotel — The Manchester (3 nights) | ~$1,000 |
| Flights (Delta; coupon covered Evelyn’s) | ~$800 |
| BreyerFest tickets (incl. Evelyn’s VIP) | ~$1,200 |
| Rental car (National) | ~$240 |
| Extra model horses | ~$600 |
| Bourbon | ~$1,100 |
| Cash + valet tips | ~$140 |
| Total | ~$5,080 |
Grandpa graciously covered all the meals (not included above). A $235 workout-tour refund is pending — net ~$4,845.
Pulled from Breyer's official "Know Before You Go" email (6/30). I'll keep watching Gmail for further BreyerFest updates and add anything actionable here.
Horse Country / Taylor Made dropped from Friday — BreyerFest pickup takes that slot. Castle & Key moved to the Sun bourbon sweep. Thoroughbred-farm experience now comes via the Sat 7:15 AM Churchill Downs Workout Tour.
Nightly themes: Mon Legacy · Tue Local Heroes · Wed Funded Agency · Thu Paint the Park Pink · Fri Arts & Culture · Sat Family Day. Box-seat pricing isn't published online — confirm at the gate.
Update 7/8: Hot Brown lunch dropped — going lighter on the early day, with a casual bite and Epping's as the food highlight. Leave Louisville by ~2, back by ~3:30. Short-day restructure 6/22: with everyone up at 4:45 AM, Mass swapped to the Lexington Cathedral of Christ the King 5 PM Vigil. Frazier History Museum dropped (didn't fit the early exit). The Overlook stays as an optional quick stop.
Restructured 6/14: the Derby Museum visit moved to a 7:15 AM Thoroughbred Workout Tour (booked), flipping Saturday to a Louisville-first day. Old Friends (Georgetown) dropped — it became a ~2.5-hr detour and we've done it on past KY trips. North Lime Donuts dropped (breakfast on the tour). Buffalo Trace Sat drawing #2 dropped — still hitting BT Fri (tour) + Sun (final drawing).
Restructured 6/21: Gigi & Grandpa's 12:04 PM departure means the one rental car can't do the Frankfort bourbon sweep and the airport run. Sweep dropped — Buffalo Trace final drawing, Castle & Key, and Four Roses are off Sunday. Trade-off accepted for a relaxed BreyerFest closing day + clean airport logistics. Bourbon still hit Fri (BT Trace Tour). Salvage option: after dropping G&G (~10:20), Four Roses (Lawrenceburg) is ~30 min west — a quick solo stop there (arrive ~10:50, leave ~11:15) still gets to KY Horse Park by ~12:00 if you want it back.
Reid Sr. + Gloria depart LEX 12:04 PM Sun Jul 12 — ahead of Chase + Evelyn (5:56 PM). They check out of the Manchester (#146109, Reid Phillips) Sun morning alongside everyone; no extra nights needed. Drop them at LEX ~10:20 AM after Granddam brunch. They're checking bourbon — see the bottle-limit note below.
The bluegrass / racehorse / model-horse stack is the spine of this trip. Most are bookable through visithorsecountry.com.
The Buffalo Trace Trace Tour (Fri, QR in hand) is now the one bourbon stop — the Sun Frankfort sweep (BT final drawing, Castle & Key, Four Roses) was dropped so the car can make Gigi & Grandpa's 12:04 airport run. Four Roses is salvageable as a quick solo stop (see below).
Already done in past KY trips: Maker's Mark, Angel's Envy, Heaven Hill, Woodford.
Updated 6/14: Whispering Woods trail ride dropped. The thoroughbred experience is now the Sat 7:15 AM Thoroughbred Workout Tour at Churchill Downs (booked). Riding options below are kept here for reference if Evelyn wants a same-day add-on at KY Horse Park Sunday.
Pickup updated 5/20 to Thu Jul 9 11:30 PM (we land 10:04 PM, ~1.5 hr to deplane + walk to Emerald counter at LEX). 3 days of rental.
Updated 5/20 via front desk (Lexi). Both rooms shortened to 3 nights (Jul 9–12, checkout Sun Jul 12).
Front desk: (859) 785-3850 • [email protected]
Cancelled / superseded: Ashbrook Hotel Frankfort (itinerary 9086181095126, cancelled Mar 15); original Manchester conf 41192SG091902 replaced by 146110/146109.
From: Lexi, Front Desk Supervisor — The Manchester
Sent: May 20, 2026
"Absolutely, both reservations have been updated to depart on Sunday 7/12/26. If there's anything else we can assist you with in the meantime please let us know and have a great day."
Best,
Lexi Front Desk Supervisor • FRONT DESK TEAM
(859) 785-3850 • [email protected] • themanchesterky.com
The Manchester | 2025 Key Hotels: ONE KEY – MICHELIN Guide
The Manchester | Best Hotels & Lodging 2025: GOLD – Best of Lexington
The Manchester | The World's Greatest Places of 2024 – TIME
Lost Palm | Most Beautiful Restaurant in Kentucky – People and OpenTable
On Wed, May 20, 2026 at 11:54 AM, Chase Olson <[email protected]> wrote:
"This is wonderful and thank you so much! We now unfortunately need to leave on Sunday. Could you update our reservations to check out then?"
On Wed, May 20, 2026 at 10:22 AM, Front Desk <[email protected]> wrote:
"Good morning,
We are so excited to host your stay! After reviewing our system I can confirm we have:
— Elizabeth Olson (146110): 7/9/26 – 7/13/26
— Reid Phillips (146109): 7/9/26 – 7/13/26
If anything needs to change, please let us know. Have a great day."