American Saddlebred Museum

Name

American Saddlebred Museum

Legal name

American Saddlebred Museum

Website

https://asbmuseum.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1962

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural/Equestrian Museum

NAICS

Museums (712110)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialty Museums (e.g., Maritime, Aviation, Sports, Music, Film) (THAJADAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sport/Show Horse Training & Performance Programs (AFAEAGAF), Equestrian Teams & Stables (Racing/Show Jumping/Eventing) (MPAKABAG)

Keywords

• Equestrian museum exhibits
• Breed heritage preservation
• Research library services
• Museum gift shop
• Event venue rental

Headquarters

HQ city

Lexington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Admission Fees: Visitors pay admission fees to access the museum and entire Kentucky Horse Park. Pricing varies by season (winter vs main season) and age group.
2. Membership Program: Members receive free admission, discounted event tickets, and 10% off gift shop purchases. Multiple membership levels available.
3. Gift Shop Sales: The museum gift shop sells American Saddlebred apparel, accessories, jewelry, home decor, books, art, and more both in-person and online at shop.asbmuseum.org.
4. Private Event Rentals: The museum offers indoor and outdoor event spaces including the Edmund and Ada Perwien Pavilion for weddings, corporate events, meetings, and private celebrations.
5. Corporate Sponsorships: Companies sponsor exhibitions and events in exchange for recognition, signage, social media exposure, and promotional opportunities.
6. Annual Fund & Donations: Donor groups at various levels (Museum Patron $10,000+, Archivist $5,000-$9,999, Display Master $2,500-$4,999, Preservationist $1,500-$2,499, Curator $500-$999, Collector $100-$499) and Triple Crown Campaign ($1,000/year for 3 years).
7. Memorial & Honor Donations: Donations to Roll of Honor (displayed in museum), Saddlebred Sidewalk bricks ($150 engraved, $75 keeper), Walk of Honor pavers ($500), and honorary/memorial gifts.
8. Planned Giving: Bequests, charitable gift annuities, retirement plan beneficiaries, and life insurance beneficiaries provide long-term support.
9. Raffles: Victory Pass Raffle ($20/ticket) for VIP experience at World Championship Horse Show, Golf Cart Raffle ($50/ticket).
10. Research Services: Staff performs research at $100/hour rate for members and non-members.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The American Saddlebred Museum operates a physical museum at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY that preserves and interprets American Saddlebred breed history through permanent and rotating exhibits, a research library of more than 5,000 items, educational programs, and special events. The museum also sells branded merchandise through an online gift shop, rents event space, sells commemorative bricks and pavers, and accepts memberships, sponsorships, and donations to fund its nonprofit mission.

Product overview

The American Saddlebred Museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit museum dedicated to preserving and promoting the history and heritage of the American Saddlebred horse. The museum offers a unified portfolio centered on physical visitor experiences at its Lexington, KY location, combined with e-commerce and educational resources. Core offerings include museum admission and membership programs, interactive permanent collection exhibits and rotating special exhibitions, an extensive research library with over 5,000 items and online catalog access, and private event venue rentals. Supporting programs include commemorative brick and paver purchasing (Saddlebred Sidewalk Bricks, Walk of Honor Pavers), the Roll of Honor recognition program, annual scholarships (Keith Bartz Impact Scholarship Award), and the Making History Perpetual Trophy. The museum also operates an online gift shop and hosts regular event programs including panel discussions, garden parties, and family days.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Museum Admission
• Membership Program
• Research Library Services
• Permanent Collection Exhibits
• Untold Tails Special Exhibition
• Online Gift Shop
• Private Event Venue Rental
• Saddlebred Sidewalk Bricks
• Walk of Honor Pavers
• Roll of Honor
• Victory Pass Raffle
• Corporate Sponsorship
• Planned Giving
• Event Programs
• Kentucky Horse Park Combined Admission

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Institute of Museum and Library ServicescoreOthersFederal agency providing grant funding that enabled the museum to complete a full inventory of the library collection and create an online searchable catalog of books, magazines, and other resources. The grant transformed the library into a more user-friendly resource for the American Saddlebred community.
• Dechra EquineminorOthersSponsor of free parking at the museum location within Kentucky Horse Park.
• Central BankminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPresenting sponsor for Family Day events at the museum. Sponsored free admission and activities for families.
• East Belmont FarmminorGTM or Marketing PartnerWorld's Champion Sponsor for 'An Evening Among Horsemen' event.
• Misdee & James MillerminorGTM or Marketing PartnerWorld's Champion Sponsor for 'An Evening Among Horsemen' event and frequent event supporters.
• Bardstown BourbonminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPresenting Sponsor for the Wednesday Night Party at the 2025 Kentucky State Fair World's Championship Horse Show.
• Kentucky Horse ParkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe museum is located on the grounds of the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY. Admission includes access to the entire park. The park provides infrastructure, visitor traffic, and a synergistic equestrian destination.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Keeneland Library: Keeneland Library in Lexington, KY is a major equine research archive serving the Thoroughbred industry. It parallels the Saddlebred Museum's 5,000+ item research library, online catalog, and Lexington-based equine scholarship mission, and shares an overlapping patron base.
• Kentucky Derby Museum: Located in Louisville, KY, the Kentucky Derby Museum preserves the history of the Thoroughbred breed and the Kentucky Derby. It is a comparable breed/destination museum in the same state with overlapping equestrian-heritage audiences and a similar nonprofit, donation- and admission-driven revenue mix.
• National Sporting Library & Museum: Based in Middleburg, VA, this institution preserves fine art, artifacts, and literature of equestrian and field sports. Its combination of art collection, library/research resources, and equestrian focus makes it a strong functional peer to the Saddlebred Museum's George Ford Morris art and library holdings.
• International Museum of the Horse: The International Museum of the Horse is co-located within Kentucky Horse Park alongside the American Saddlebred Museum and similarly focuses on the heritage of the horse in human civilization. Its mission, audience (Kentucky Horse Park visitors), and operating model closely mirror the subject museum, making it the closest direct neighbor and peer.
• National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame: Based in Saratoga Springs, NY, this museum preserves the history of Thoroughbred racing and honors racing's contributors. It shares the breed-heritage museum format, donor-driven operating model, and event/award programming (Hall of Fame inductions, racing-season tie-ins) of the subject museum.
• Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame: Located in Goshen, NY, the Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame is a breed-specific equestrian museum that documents Standardbred harness racing history. It directly parallels the American Saddlebred Museum's breed-focused, hall-of-fame-style mission and small-team nonprofit structure.
• American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame & Museum: The AQHA Hall of Fame & Museum in Amarillo, TX preserves the history of the American Quarter Horse breed. As a breed-specific museum with permanent and rotating exhibits, an archive, and a strong breed-community donor base, it is structurally analogous to the American Saddlebred Museum.

Others

• Smithsonian National Museum of American History: The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History maintains equine and agricultural artifacts and serves as the most prominent large-scale U.S. heritage museum for thematic reference on collections management, fundraising, and educational programming — though it operates at vastly greater scale and is not a direct competitor.

Broad incumbents

• Kentucky Horse Park: Kentucky Horse Park is the state-operated equestrian venue and tourism complex in which the American Saddlebred Museum is physically embedded. As the park's broader equestrian programming and visitor traffic shape museum admissions, it functions as a host/incumbent with materially overlapping scope.

Emerging players

• Calumet Farm: Calumet Farm is a historic Lexington, KY Thoroughbred breeding operation with a public-facing heritage and museum-style barn tours. It represents an adjacent heritage-equine attraction serving a similar Lexington equine-tourism visitor base but does not operate as a dedicated museum.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/asbmuseum
• YouTubeyoutube.com/asbmuseum1
• Facebookfacebook.com/asbmuseum
• Instagraminstagram.com/asbmuseum
• Pinterestpinterest.com/asbmuseum
• TikToktiktok.com/@asbmuseum
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/asbmuseum

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about American Saddlebred Museum