Aiken Offers Guided Tours of Historic Horse Training Facilities

Thoroughbred horse racing has a deep history in the CSRA, and for one Aiken resident, it's become a big passion project.

Lisa Hall is the author of Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Champions. The book tells about winners like Assagai, Barnaby's Bluff, Tea-Maker, and Tom Fool. More on them in a moment. But Hall developed a passion for the deep history of Aiken in the thoroughbred world.

That passion also led her to her role as Museum Coordinator for the Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame and Museum, because - in her words - "A lot of people who just moved to Aiken really don't know a lot about the background and the history here."

As reported in the Post and Courier, Hall also occasionally leads small groups on tours of Aiken's old training grounds, showing off what makes this South Carolina town matter to horse racing.

A recent tour group, which the Post and Courier featured, stopped at Aiken Training Track and the Two Notch Road section. They met horses and barn cats. Riders and owners chatted with them.

"It's a very laid-back kind of tour, and that's kind of the way we like it," Hall said, according to the Post and Courier.

Hall authored Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Champions. The book tells about winners like Assagai, Barnaby's Bluff, Tea-Maker, and Tom Fool.

"Since the 1940s, forty racing champions have traveled the hallowed grounds at the historic Aiken Training Track. Thoroughbred icons such as Kelso, Tom Fool, Swale, Pleasant Colony, Conquistador Cielo and Shuvee trained at this world-renowned track," the book's descriptions reads. "Numerous members of the Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame won the biggest races in the sport. These champions combined for a total of 546 wins in 1,395 starts, including wins in the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes. Race along with author Lisa J. Hall as she pays homage to these equine champions and an Aiken legacy."

Born in Aiken, Hall is happy to show off to guests how the training grounds work and the legacy they hold.

"The idea is to make people aware of horse-racing here in Aiken — how important it is," with particular emphasis on training, Hall said.

Hall said these "experiences," as she made sure to call them, help give people a snapshot of the deep history in the region. These experiences happen just a few times a year, depending on availability and request. Call 803-643-2121 to learn about tours.

You can find the Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame and Museum at Hopelands Gardens, 135 Dupree Place.