Shamrocks in the Bluegrass

"We bought the bar with a credit card," recalls Ken Donworth. "Forty thousand bucks, credit card debt at 20 percent. And we paid it off in three or four months." He shakes his head. "That was 1998. I don't think I'd do it now. So we did take risks, no doubt. But we didn't get caught on any of those slippery slopes." On the contrary. In a college town like Lexington, Donworth and his partners soon figured that policing their customers' age was more trouble than it was worth. So...

He has been here longer than just about any of them, albeit he arrived in 1978 presuming himself to be only breaking a longer journey. One breeding season in Kentucky, and then it would be off to Australia. Having instead become a pioneer of a remarkable Irish diaspora, Robbie Lyons is a perfect template for the many compatriots who have meanwhile flourished in the Bluegrass: an innate flair for trading, a fierce work ethic, and the willingness to take a gamble. He wasn't particularly raised to the horse game--his father...