An insider look at Kentucky’s thoroughbred farms

The chance to drive your favorite classic through the rolling hills of Kentucky, the land of bourbon, bluegrass, thoroughbred racing and finger-licking-good fried chicken? That’s the whole idea behind our all-new Classic Motorsports Bluegrass Tour.

Wednesday, October 11, focused on horse country, with tour guests getting a private tour of a stud farm and getting insight into thoroughbred horse racing.

Then, we headed to the Holly Hill Inn for a lunch of sophisticated takes on Southern favorites. Owner Ouita Michel is a multi-time James Beard Foundation nominee.

After lunch, our guests got to partake in one of our favorite Classic Motorsport Road Tour activities, exploring a private automotive collection.

To cap off the day, we let the tour participants choose their own adventure for the afternoon and dinner–go out or stay in; keep it intimate or join up with tour friends.

Experiencing Kentucky’s stunning Appalachian scenery

The chance to drive your favorite classic through the rolling hills of Kentucky, the land of bourbon, bluegrass, thoroughbred racing and finger-licking-good fried chicken? That’s the whole idea behind our all-new Classic Motorsports Bluegrass Tour.

Tuesday, October 10, started out by heading southeast into the Appalachian Mountains, taking in the mountain roads before arriving at the first stop of the day, the Flat Lick Falls Scenic and Recreation Area and the virtually unknown waterfall, Flat Lick Falls.

After that, the tour headed through the Red River Gorge for a private lunch at the Hemlock Lodge at the Natural Bridge State Resort Park, followed by the opportunity to ride the skylift to the top of the Natural Bridge to take in the spectacular views and foliage.

Before heading back into Berea for dinner at Churchill‘s Honeysuckle Dining and Bourbon House, tour-goers were treated to the opportunity to drive Route 587, better known as the “Ridge Runner.”

Exploring the history and art of making Kentucky bourbon

The chance to drive your favorite classic through the rolling hills of Kentucky, the land of bourbon, bluegrass, thoroughbred racing and finger-licking-good fried chicken? That’s the whole idea behind our all-new Classic Motorsports Bluegrass Tour.

Monday, October 9, marked the first day of driving on our new tour of Kentucky, starting off from the Historic Boone Tavern Hotel and heading towards Bardstown, the historic home of bourbon making.

Once there, tour guests were treated to an inside look at the bourbon-making process at the Heaven Hill Distillery–and the chance to taste a few samples, too.

Then, it was a short stint into downtown Bardstown where we met at the Old Talbott Tavern for lunch. In operation since 1779, the historic tavern has hosted just about everyone, from rough frontiersmen to generals and even a few statesmen.

After that, we stopped for a visit at the Maker’s Mark Distillery, where guests were treated to a tour of the grounds that offered insight into the art and history of bourbon making, plus a tasting before heading back to our home away from home, the Historic Boone Tavern Hotel in Berea.

Welcoming guests to our first-ever Bluegrass Tour

The chance to drive your favorite classic through the rolling hills of Kentucky–the land of bourbon, bluegrass, thoroughbred racing and finger-licking-good fried chicken? That’s the whole idea behind our all-new Classic Motorsports Bluegrass Tour.

This brand-new tour proved so popular, in fact, that we had to run two separate waves, with the first wave kicking off this past Sunday, October 8.

On the first day of our Bluegrass Tour, we welcomed our participants at their home-away-from-home for the week, the historic Boone Tavern Hotel in Berea, Kentucky.

Once everyone had the chance to unpack, settle in and freshen up, we headed to Churchill‘s Honeysuckle Dining and Bourbon House for a bourbon tasting and dinner.

Location Scouting for the 2024 Empire State Tour

We’ve just returned from our location scouting mission for the Empire State Tour, and we’re happy to report that we found almost too many great locations for just one tour.

The finger lakes area of New York features a stunning array of natural wonders, historic racing heritage, bucolic scenery and manufacturing legacy, all of which will be on display during this Ithaca-based adventure.

Bully Hil Vineyards overlooking Keuka Lake

First up on our scouting list were a series of waterfalls. Photos simply don’t do them justice, but we guarantee Ithaca Falls and Taughannock Falls will leave you oohing and ahhing. And with the Empire State Tour scheduled for mid-July, Mother Nature will be out in all her summer finery for us to enjoy. Wildflowers, verdant leaves and cool, clear mountain water will abound.

Ithaca Falls

But what’s a Classic Motorsports Road Tour without some exclusive access to motorsports history?

As part of our scouting, we paid a visit to our friends at the International Motor Racing Research Center, an institute dedicated to collecting and preserving motorsports media and history. Their archives are truly impressive, and their location in Watkins Glen hints at other adventures we have planned for you…

A peek inside the International Motor Racing Research Center in Watkins Glen

In terms of exploring the finger lakes area’s manufacturing history, we have a handful of museum visits planned that we’re very excited to share with you. These include the Corning Museum of Glass, a massive complex dedicated to the art, science and craft of glasswork, the Northeast Classic Car Museum, an ode to the region’s proud legacy of car production, and the Curtiss Museum, a tribute to the Wright Brothers’ rival whose story you’ve probably never heard before.

This is just a small taste of everything we have planned for the Empire State Tour next summer - stay tuned for more updates as we announce more exciting additions.

We’re still accepting registrations for the Empire State Tour, but this tour is filling up fast. Claim your spot today to make sure you don’t miss it!

From the Smoky Mountains to Bluegrass Country and Beyond

Last month we ran our 2023 Smoky Mountain Tour. The switch to basing in Asheville, NC provided a more cosmopolitan feel than previous years, with fantastic dining within walking distance of our host hotel and nearly-instant access to fantastic roads including the legendary Blue Ridge Parkway.

Guests were thrilled with lunch stops in Lake Lure, BMW’s Performance center, Little Switzerland and Maggie Valley, and the route we created from Little Switzerland to Hot Springs was truly world class. We also got to experience Chimney Rock Park, home of the famous hill climb, as well as a scenic boat ride on Lake Lure.

With the Smoky Mountain Tour all wrapped up, it was time to head north to Kentucky and finish working on routes and details for our upcoming Bluegrass Tours. We assumed the roads there could not match those of Western North Carolina.

We were wrong.

With the help of the folks at Backroads of Appalachia, we found roads in Kentucky that easily rivaled what we had found further south. You’ll have to see them for yourself to believe them.

With stops at distilleries, horse farms, Cumberland Falls, a truly unique car collection in Lexington and some other amazing sites, this tour is shaping up to potentially eclipse what we accomplished on our Smoky Mountain Tour.

One of the planned stops for our Bluegrass Tour this year: the Maker’s Mark distillery

For 2024, we’re planning three tours. Our always-popular Orange Blossom Tour will kick off the festivities for the Amelia in late February. This tour will be based at our most popular venue, the Mission Inn Resort & Club, and will visit many fan-favorite central Florida roads and sights. As always, we add new and different roads and attractions every year, but this one will touch on a lot of our greatest hits to make it a fantastic tour for newcomers and repeat guests alike.

The Smoky Mountain Tour will take a hiatus for 2024, but don’t worry: we’ll bring it back even better in 2025.

In July of 2024, we’ll host our first-ever Empire State Tour in the Finger Lakes region of New York. So far, planned attractions include track time at Watkins Glen and driving the old street route there, as well as museums, waterfalls, and a visit to the Corning Glass Works. This tour will be based in downtown Ithaca, NY.

And finally, in October we will once again host our Bluegrass Tour at the Boone Tavern near Lexington.

With the post-pandemic travel frenzy seeing no sign of subsiding, our 2024 tours are already nearly half full. When we announce our schedule to the public next month, they are sure to all sell out. Our Orange Blossom and Empire State Tours are filling up the fastest.

Save yourself a spot, check out itineraries, timing and pricing: