Visit Denali Stud

Best for guests who want to get up close and personal with mares & foals, and those who want to learn more about what it takes to run an industry leading commercial sales consignment.

WHAT YOU’LL SEE Mares & Foals, you may get hands-on too!

BEST FOR All Ages, curious, casual, and committed fans welcome

ON THE TOUR You will be walking & standing throughout the tour

Come and join us for a behind the scenes look at one of Central Kentucky’s leading thoroughbred nurseries.

You will begin your visit with a stop at the Denali cabin. A brief history of the farm will be given, explaining how a boy from suburban New Jersey fell in love with horses, choosing the racetrack over college, and eventually bringing him to Kentucky.

The tour will move to the foaling barn area to visit mares and their foals (in the spring and early summer, and just mares in the late summer, fall and winter). You will learn about the care and management of broodmares and their babies and have the opportunity to pose for pictures and feed the mares peppermints. This part of the tour can be done by walking or driving, depending on the wishes of the guests.

After ample time with the horses, the tour will move to the farm office to learn about the sales and see memorabilia from many of Denali Stud’s special horses, whether they were stars on the track or in the auction ring.

ABOUT DENALI STUD

Learn more about Denali Stud by visiting their website, their Trip Advisor Page or by visiting their social media pages: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube

As a young boy, Craig Bandoroff lived in Cherry Hill, NJ very close to the Garden State Racetrack. He developed a passion for racing and began working summers on the track as a groom. In high school he participated in a vocational program school day, in which he worked at the track in the morning and attended honors classes in the afternoon.

Upon graduation, he chose the track over college, and worked full time as a groom, exercise rider and eventually an apprentice jockey for long time New Jersey trainer, Marty Fallon. In December of 1974, Craig was seriously injured in a track spill, ending his riding career. He spent nearly a year in a rehabilitation hospital and upon leaving, he enrolled in the University of Virginia (1977-78) and graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1981 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture Economics and Animal Science. In 1990 Craig founded Denali Stud alongside his wife, Holly.