- Alydar
Thoroughbred racehorse infobox
horsename = Alydar
caption =
sire =Raise a Native
dam = Sweet Tooth
damsire =On-And-On
sex = Stallion
foaled = 1975
country = USA flagicon|USA
colour = Chestnut
breeder =Calumet Farm
owner = Calumet Farm
trainer =John M. Veitch
record = 26:14-9-1
earnings = $957,195
race =Great American Stakes (1977)
Champagne Stakes (1977)Tremont Stakes (1977)Flamingo Stakes (1978)Florida Derby (1978)Travers Stakes (1978)Arlington Classic Stakes (1978)Whitney Handicap (1978)
awards=Leading sire in North America (1990)
honours = United States Racing Hall of Fame (1989)
#27 - Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century
updated = October 5, 2006Alydar (
March 23 ,1975 ,Calumet Farm -November 15 ,1990 ) was a chestnut colt and an Americanthoroughbred race horse who was most famous for finishing a close second toAffirmed in all three races of theTriple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing , a feat not repeated before or since.Trained by
John M. Veitch (who also trained his half-sister,Eclipse Award winningOur Mims ), and ridden by jockeyJorge Velasquez , in 1978 Alydar dueled withAffirmed in all three legs of the Triple Crown, losing to his arch rival by a combined total of less than two lengths. The 1978Belmont Stakes , the third and final leg of the series, is considered by many as one of the most exciting races in the history of the sport. In that race, Alydar and Affirmed dueled side by side from the middle of the far turn all the way to the wire, with Affirmed barely holding on to win by a head to claim the Triple Crown.In his career, Alydar won 14 of 26 starts, finishing second 9 times and third once. He earned purses totalling $957,195. Alydar raced against Affirmed ten times in his career, winning three times. He was inducted into the
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1989.Alydar was a major success as a stallion. His offspring include
Alysheba , winner of theKentucky Derby ,Preakness Stakes and theBreeders' Cup Classic , plus others such asEasy Goer , Turkoman,Strike the Gold ,Criminal Type , Althea, andMiss Oceana .On
November 13 ,1990 , Alydar appeared to have shattered his right hind leg in his stall at Calumet Farms inLexington, Kentucky . Emergency surgery was performed the next day in an attempt to repair the injury, but the leg broke again. On November 15, Alydar was euthanized. At the time the owner of Calumet Farm was in dire trouble financially, and suspicions of foul play by the management were raised. John Thomas Lundy (J.T.) was indicted and convicted in 2000 on separate fraud charges and served almost four years in prison. The farm's former attorney, Gary Matthews, was also convicted and received a 21 month prison sentence.In the
Blood-Horse magazine ranking of the top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century, Alydar was ranked #27.References
* Auerbach, Ann Hagedorn. "Wild Ride, The Rise and Tragic Fall of Calumet Farm, Inc., America's Premier Racing Dynasty" Henry Holt & Co ISBN 0-8050-2003-9
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20021213191905/www.texasmonthly.com/mag/issues/2001-06-01/feature4.php June 2001 Texas Monthly article titled "The Killing of Alydar" by Skip Hollandsworth]External links
* [http://cnnsi.com/more/horseracing/1999/belmont/news/1999/06/04/triple_crown_videos/affirmed1978.mov Quicktime of stretch run of 1978 Belmont Stakes from NYRA]
* [http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/horse.asp?ID=10 Alydar's profile at the NMR Hall of Fame]
* [http://www.hitak.com/home/alydar/alydar/ Alydar's career details]
* [http://horseracing.about.com/library/weekly/aa070900a.htm Affirmed vs. Alydar]
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