(LEX 18) — A woman who lives across the country is sharing her love of horse racing through her art.
Amanda Lee lives in northern Utah. But even far from the Horse Capital of the World, she has fallen in love with horses and racing. She even jokes that Kentucky is like her second home and has made some amazing connections here.
"I'm just in love with horses and horse racing and grew up loving horses," Lee said. "If I were to move anywhere, I would say Kentucky is near the top of that list just because of the horse racing and the tradition of it all," Lee said.
That tradition has welcomed Amanda with open arms.
"Kentucky's kind of the heart of it all, and so as long as I've loved racing, I've wanted to come visit Kentucky," Lee said.
But when you're a visitor, you become one of us. So when the scenes are picturesque? Dabble with making your mark.
"I've always loved art as a kid, I grew up drawing," Lee said. "Kind of just reminds me of myself as a kid falling in love with this sport."
Amanda takes that love of art with the love of the horse. And 2020 handed us a blank canvas, testing our true colors.
"Obviously, it was a very stressful time, and I needed a bit of an outlet, so I painted," Lee said.
And this one, American Pharoah, we know is special. Thousands of miles away in Utah, Amanda remembers being in a restaurant the moment American Pharoah inked his name in history.
"Once he won that race, everybody started clapping, and I had tears in my eyes because I knew this was history being made, and I had been able to be a part of it," Lee said.
She thought she was a part of history then.
"I've been able to build friendships with some of the owners, breeders, and trainers of some of my favorite horses, and I've also made some amazing friends," Lee said.
But in Kentucky, during Derby season, everyone is a friend.
