The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) will relocate its headquarters to downtown Lexington, Ky., after nearly 20 years at suburban office parks on the outskirts of the city, the organization announced today. A lease has been signed for 4,850 square feet of office space at The Square, a collection of 16 historic buildings that has been at the heart of Lexington since the 1880s, and the move will be complete by August 1.

Said Lexington Mayor Jim Gray: “What better place for the National Thoroughbred Racing Association than the heart of the Horse Capital of the World? Welcome to downtown!”

Located at the intersection of Main and Broadway, the properties that comprise The Square are listed on the National Register of Historic Buildings. The space was renovated in 1985 to bring all of the structures under one roof while preserving many of the most distinctive original features, such as original decorative metal ceilings, ironwork, and exterior balconies. The Square offers visitors and tenants a mix of restaurants, bars, shopping, galleries, and a children’s museum. 

“Our new downtown location will allow us to further integrate the NTRA into the Lexington community, while offering our employees a dynamic work environment,” said NTRA President and CEO Alex Waldrop. “Downtown Lexington continues to undergo a dramatic renaissance and we are proud to be a part of it.”

The NTRA is a broad-based coalition of more than 100 horse racing interests and thousands of individual stakeholders consisting of horseplayers, racetrack operators, owners, breeders, trainers, and affiliated horse racing associations. The organization has 17 full-time employees based in Lexington, regional sales representatives spread strategically across the country, and a horse industry advocacy team based in Washington, D.C.

Established in 1998, the NTRA is charged with increasing the popularity, welfare and integrity of Thoroughbred racing through consensus-based leadership, legislative advocacy, safety and integrity initiatives, fan engagement and corporate partner development. The NTRA owns and manages the Eclipse Awards; the National Horseplayers Championship; the NTRA Safety & Integrity Alliance; NTRA Advantage, a corporate partner sales and sponsorship program; and Horse PAC®, a federal political action committee.

“We are very excited that the NTRA has chosen to move their corporate headquarters to The Square in downtown Lexington,” said Woodford Webb, president of The Webb Companies and a partner in The Square. “The NTRA has been an active corporate citizen and they will make a wonderful addition to our downtown community. They will only enhance our great tenant mix at The Square for years to come.”

The NTRA’s new office will be located in a second-floor space, above the Saul Good Restaurant & Pub. Other new neighbors at The Square will include everything from Tony’s Steaks and Seafood, one of the state’s top restaurants, known for its vibrant social scene during Keeneland racing and sales, to popular retailers like Urban Outfitters, to the Lexington Visitors Center. NTRA sponsor LUXAIR JETS also has offices at The Square.

The NTRA presently occupies half of the fifth floor of One Paragon Centre (2525 Harrodsburg Road, Suite 510) and shares some common space with fellow Thoroughbred racing nonprofit Breeders’ Cup Ltd., which is planning its own relocation to downtown Lexington in 2018, at the former Fayette County Courthouse.

New Postal Address

Effective July 1, the NTRA’s new postal address will be 401 West Main Street, Suite 222, Lexington, Kentucky, 40507.