I got hooked on Garden and Gun magazine after reading a copy at Fun Cuts, where I was waiting while my kids got a trim from expert kid stylist Mr. Ray. I learned from Mr. Ray that Fun Cuts receives free magazines from publishers trying to get their products seen and read. I found their copy of Garden and Gun in among Teen Vogue, Us, Glamour, and Southern Living. There was a brilliant article about 1924 Kentucky Derby winner Black Gold, and a light piece on  Mint Juleps. I tore out the subscription form and sent it in that very day. I read each issue (bimonthly) cover to cover. I would describe Garden and Gun as a trendier version of Southern Living that appeals to both men and women.

In this month's issue there is a feature on the "Secret South" - uncovering hidden favorites. Here is an excerpt -

Horse Track
If your timing’s just right on the onetime British sugar colony of Nevis, you can hear an unexpected sound along with the usual lapping waves and clattering fronds: thundering hoofbeats. In a hidden corner of the compact Caribbean island’s windward coast, down a snaking road that inevitably convinces first-timers they’ve taken a wrong turn, the Indian Castle racetrack awaits: a humble dirt oval overlooking the deep blue Atlantic, flanked by a shaded concrete grandstand. Coconut palms bend and sway off the southernmost turn, goats graze in the scrubby infield, and—several times a year, usually on public holidays—the Caribbean’s coolest horse races draw a commingling crowd of islanders and tourists, cheering on the local jockeys. Only two or three Thoroughbreds might face off in any given race, and the proceedings occasionally dissolve into slapstick, as when a goat or a wild donkey wanders onto the track. Meanwhile, out behind the seats, vendors stoke the festive vibe with barbecued chicken and icy bottles of Guinness sold out of coolers. The betting window is equipped with a well-stocked bar, and in between races, the finish-line judge sells T-shirts. On a recent spring Sunday, an expat American innkeeper may have summed up the scene perfectly: “I’d like to think this was what horse racing was like a hundred and fifty years ago.”

Trivia: What famous American was born in Nevis?