[8] The family lived in a rural area and Ken's childhood home lacked indoor plumbing.

He attended Eastern Kentucky University his sophomore year and then enlisted in the United States Navy.

They named the property Ramsey Farm in 1995, and purchased additional parcels of land over the years, bringing the total acreage to approximately 1,200 acres.

[13] Sarah had a severe stroke in 2007, which resulted in her being in a coma for three weeks and developing paralysis on the right side of her body.

Fellow horse owner Marylou Whitney, who had also suffered a stroke, offered medical advice and emotional support to the Ramseys.

[11] Their philanthropic interests include the Kenneth L. and Sarah K. Ramsey Center for Health and Natural Sciences building at Union College.

The same day his grandson Nolan Ramsey saddled at Gulfstream Park "Clearly Copper' for a 4 1/2-length maiden-breaking victory.

[14] Ken's original interest in horse racing began when an aunt took him to Churchill Downs when he was 6 years old.

[16] They became serious about horse breeding in 1994 when they purchased the former Almahurst Farm, which was the birthplace of 1918 Kentucky Derby winner Exterminator[6] and the Standardbred racehorse Greyhound.

However, the horses are also given luxury treatment when needed—the farm also has an equine spa that has an underwater treadmill with whirlpool jets.

Other horses have been trained by D. Wayne Lukas,[12] Bobby Frankel, Chad Brown,[19] and Mike Maker.

At the urging of their sons, they began to reduce the number of claiming horses they raced, and downsized their breeding size of their operation to focus their efforts on higher-end races, particularly using daughters of Kitten's Joy to produce horses that can run on dirt tracks and with Derby potential.

[23] They also had success with the dirt track horse Roses in May, winner of the Dubai World Cup,[24][25] who they sold to stand at stud in Japan.

So they began to carefully invest in relatively inexpensive mares, some obtained in claiming races, but with suitable pedigrees.

To help promote the farm's program, Ken Ramsey made a point of leading his horses into the winner's circle after races.

[10] Sarah named their stallion "Kitten's Joy" because "she sensed that the horse would bring them great happiness.

Ward filed a lawsuit to recover nearly $1 million he claims to be owed in delinquent training bills.

Ward acquired an agricultural lien against the horses because of the debt and received permission to sell them during a hearing before Jessamine County Court.