Big Lex stallion statue (12 ft, Gatton Park)

Lexington's blue horse mascot has stepped off the signs and into a park. Big Lex, a 12-foot-tall statue of the VisitLEX logo, was unveiled at 11 a.m. on 24 March 2026 at the corner of Cox Street and Manchester Street in Gatton Park on the Town Branch, downtown Lexington. WUKY reported that VisitLEX introduced the mascot in 2009, just ahead of the 2010 World Equestrian Games, and that he is usually seen on signs and murals. The name recalls Lexington, the 19th-century stallion that the Lane Report says sired more winners than any Thoroughbred; WKYT calls him a champion racehorse of the 1850s. VisitLEX gives the statue as 12 feet tall and nearly 16 feet long, made of high-density sculpted foam on a reinforced steel armature with a 5/16-inch rigid epoxy resin coating painted to match the VisitLEX blue. WKYT reports a weight of 1,000 pounds and a year of work by artists, and names Heather Smith as designer. She called it "a giant toy horse" and joked that anyone tall enough to climb on it probably should not be in the park. Gatton Park's chief executive said the park will serve as the statue's permanent home, and Councilmember Chuck Ellinger said he expects it to become the photograph visitors must take in Lexington. The park, behind Rupp Arena on the former Manchester Parking Lot, is funded by private donations and grants. VisitLEX tied the unveiling to Keeneland's spring meet and the Breeders' Cup, and WUKY lists photo hours of 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.