the Bluegrass

Roughly bounded by Frankfort, Paris, Richmond and Stanford, the Bluegrass region was the first part of Kentucky settled by Europeans and today is home to about half the state's population. The calcium-rich limestone soil grows Kentucky bluegrass (a Poa species) and is credited with the strong bones of thoroughbred horses bred there. Kentuckians say 'down in the Bluegrass' the way Texans say 'down in the Hill Country'.