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Unknown to the public, Calumet was struggling with loan repayments and insurance premiums.

But then the bottom fell out, compounded by the loss of certain horse related tax credits.īUY- 'Broken: The Suspicious Death of Alydar And The End of Horse Racing's Golden Age'Ĭaught in that downturn was Calumet Farm, a storied horse breeding operation that lay claim to a tradition of stakes winners, including Triple Crown champions Whirlaway (1941) and Citation (1945). In the years leading up to Alydar’s death, the horse racing industry was booming, flush with oil money and Japanese investments. “Even the Lexington horse community did not believe it,” he notes. The official report concluded that Alydar apparently kicked the stall door with such great force that his leg was entangled in the broken wall and when he tried to pull it back it became injured.īut according to Kray, whose legal experience with animals range from kidnapped Great Danes to divorce settlements around family pets, Alydar’s tragic accident raises suspicion. Emergency surgery was performed the next day, but the 15-year-old broke his leg again under his own weight and on November 15, he was put to sleep.

His foals who went on to win Grade 1 stakes included Alysheba (1987 Kentucky Derby & Preakness), Easy Goer (1989 Belmont), Strike the Gold (1991 Kentucky Derby) and many others.ĭo you shop on Amazon? Support us at SPORTS HISTORY WEEKLY by clicking here for ANY of your purchasesīut on the night of November 13, 1990, Alydar was found in his stall at Calumet Farm with his hind leg shattered. He served 100 mares a year, which made him the top sire of the day commanding $200,000 in stud fees. The last chase in New York saw one of the most exciting runs in the sport’s history when the galloping beasts dueled side-by-side from the middle of the far turn until the finish line.įollowing his racing career, Alydar became Calumet’s main cash producer in the breeding shed.

On the track, Alydar was best known for his rivalry with Affirmed, the 1978 Triple Crown winner who beat him by 1½ lengths at the Kentucky Derby, then by a neck at the Preakness, and then by a head at Belmont. thoroughbred champions by Blood-Horse Magazine. The chestnut stallion was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 1989 and ranked #27 in the top 100 of U.S.