Exhibits in the Original Stall Area tell the stories of legendary horses including Hambletonian who sired over 1300 foals and to whom all trotters can trace their lineage. A fun exhibit portrays the extent that horse racing has permeated our everyday language. Terms such as start from scratch, flog a dead horse, champing at the bit, and hold your horses are just a few sayings originating in the equine world. Also on display are weathervanes from the 1800s which borrowed heavily on the trotting horse.

The Living Hall of Fame of the Trotter is among the most attractive of horse museum exhibits. Each living member is honored with a colorful 12' clay statuette in life-like surroundings exhibited in a plexi-glass case. Upon their passing, Hall of Famers automatically become enshrined in the adjacent Peter D. Haughton Room of Immortals.

In a large side gallery hang many of the nearly 200 trotting prints by Currier & Ives collected by The Trotting Horse Museum. In the back of the museum the Historic Track clubhouse has been re-created, providing a glimpse of turn-of-the century elegance. Upstairs, the Sulky Loft sports a collection of sulkies, wagons, and sleighs dating back more than 100 years which demonstrate the evolution of the sport. Also on hand is the first mobile starting gate, welded to the back of a Ford Model-T, which solved the problem of how to fairly start a harness race.

The Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington (I-75 and Iron Works Pike, Lexington, 606/233-4303) is actually several museums. The International Museum of the Horse chronicles all breeds of horses as you travel on a circular ramp past exhibits and artifacts. The exceptionally colorful American Saddle Horse Museum depicts the world of the American Saddlebred. Dazzling dioramas explore the elegant saga of the quintessential American show horse. An innovative exhibit puts you in the saddle of such champions as Imperator, Skywatch and Wing Commander. The Museum also houses the United Professional Horsemen’s Association Hall of Fame.

In a corner of the Park is the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame with exhibits and artwork on polo ponies. A display of polo clothes shows how the sport gave the world the button-down shirt, introduced by Brooks Brothers in 1900. Also on the grounds is The Man O'War Monument, burial site of the great racehorse.

Down I-64 under the familiar twin spires of Churchill Downs in Louisville is the beautiful white Kentucky Derby Museum (700 Central Avenue, Louisville, 40201 502/637-1111) where every day is Derby Day. The order and winning silks of every Kentucky Derby comprise the Time-Line around the first floor Great Hall. The boots, not shoes, worn by first Derby winner Aristedes in 1875 are on display. Other unique artifacts from Derby history include an 1896 silk purse awarded Kingman.

In the center of The Great Hall a life-size statue of the current Derby winner and rider stand inside a replica of the Churchill Downs Winners Circle before a tote board lit with final results. Embroidered blankets of Triple Crown winners hang from the two-story ceiling. A 360-degree multi-image presentation shown with 96 projectors on a 225-foot screen around The Great Hall unveils the drama of Kentucky Derby Day. The film is updated each year to honor the current Derby champion.