The Paso Fino, Friesian, and Lipizzaner: these are among the 50 breeds at Kentucky Horse Park, a major draw in the city known as Horse Capital of the World. However, there’s far more to this Bluegrass Region metro than thoroughbreds and ponies. The birthplace of bourbon made our Top 10 for Nightlife, at #6, with everything from party-bike bar hopping to the Bluegrass Trail for craft beer lovers. With Kentucky’s largest mall, the city ranked #15 for Shopping. Those two subcategories contributed to the city’s overall #16 spot for Programming. “Lex” also made our Top 10 for Trip Advisor reviews (#9), which helped its #19 Promotion ranking. Lex can toot its own horn for the $220-million, 800,000-square-foot mixed-use City Center downtown, in the final stages of opening with two hotels, luxury condos, and more. Then there’s the $275-million expansion to Lexington Convention Center’s Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center, originally slated to be fully open by 2022, although the COVID-19 outbreak will inevitably delay the project.