Spendthrift Farm unveiled its latest addition Nov. 1, a 7,000 square-foot, two-story visitors center that will be the centerpiece of farm tours scheduled through the industry-owned Horse Country farm tours organization.
The opening ceremony for the B. Wayne Hughes Visitors Center was attended by approximately 200 federal, state, and local politicians and prominent Central Kentucky breeders and owners who were first across threshold of the building, which houses a trophy and memorabilia room that includes the golden 2020 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) and 2020 Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) trophies won by Authentic, who stands at Spendthrift. The center also features a gift shop, outdoor and indoor entertainment space, and upstairs office space.
As visitors walk through the doors, they immediate see stretched below their feet and under heavy glass flooring the preserved blanket of roses draped over Authentic in the Derby winner's circle.
Hughes, an entrepreneur and Thoroughbred industry pioneer in the area of breeding incentive programs, bought Spendthrift Farm in 2004 and restored the farm's historic brand and its land, renovating almost all the farm's signature structures, and returned Spendthrift to prominence as a viable commercial breeding operation. Hughes died at 87 in mid-August of 2021. The farm is now owned by Hughes' son-in-law and daughter Eric and Tamara Gustavson.
"One of Wayne's great attributes is that he was never married to an idea. In the early days of the farm, he was concerned about liabilities with tourists, so we didn't do any of that," said Eric Gustavson. "As the years went by, he got more into the idea that tourists were a really positive thing and we got involved in Horse Country. We then got the idea of creating the visitors center and we had hoped Wayne would have seen it in his lifetime. While we're sad he didn't, we get to honor him and his legacy to the farm, to the community, and to the horse industry."
Horse Country tour visitors will have their Spendthrift experience start and stop at the new center, which is set between the farm's office and its stallion complex that will be the home of 27 stallions for the 2023 breeding season, topped by three-time leading North American sire Into Mischief .
Outside the visitors center is a prominent bronze statue of Malibu Moon, a foundation stallion for the farm. At nearly 1,700 pounds, the bronze sculpture of Malibu Moon is scaled at 110% life size and portrays him as the mature breeding stallion he was during his time at the farm. He faces his old paddock in the foreground and old stall at the stallion complex in the background.
"When we started out, the farm was very much a fledgling operation. He gave us an instant legitimacy and put Spendthrift back on the map," said Gustavson. "You can't overstate the importance of Malibu Moon to the farm."
The Malibu Moon statue was sculpted by artist Douwe Blumberg at the foundry in Norman, Okla. Blumberg and his team began the year-long project in September 2021.
"I loved the opportunity to capture Malibu Moon and embrace his power, masculinity, and fiery eye," said Blumberg in an earlier interview. "It wasn't until his longtime groom and manager both agreed that it 'was him' that I felt I had succeeded. He just feels so natural in the space, like he's come home."
