Horse Racing: Alydar, the champion Thoroughbred racehorse
Alydar, the chestnut colt, was foaled on the 23rd of March 1975 and was bred and owned by the Calumet Farm. The racehorse is mostly known for his rivalry with another champion, the eleventh Triple Crown winner Affirmed. The two Thoroughbred colts
contended 10 races against each other.
Alyadr was trained by John M. Veitch and ridden by the jockey Jorge Velasquez. Affirmed and Alydar, the popular rival duo, met each other in all three legs of the Triple Crown in the year 1978. Alydar could not make it to the Triple Crown and lost it to
Affirmed, by an altogether total of less than two lengths. Belmont Stakes of 1978, which was contended by both the champion racehorses, was considered to be the most exciting event of that particular racing season. The two competitors ran side by side, Affirmed
winning the race by a very bleak margin.
According to the statistics, Alydar has contended a total of 26 meets in his athletic career, and managed to win 14 of these starts. He has also finished 9 races in the second spot and one race in the third. The total money that Alydar has won during his
career is known to be $ 957,195. The racehorse ran against the Triple Crown champion in ten events, out of which he held him off in three. His total purse earnings are known to be $ 957,195. Alydar was also inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall
of Fame in the year 1989.
The great Thoroughbred’s major wins as a two year old stallion include the Great American Stakes (1977), Champagne Stakes (1977) and the Tremont Stakes (1977).
Most of the significant wins of the racehorse were in the 1978 racing season, when he contended the starts as a three old colt. These include the Flamingo Stakes (1978), Florida Derby (1978), Travers Stakes (1978), Arlington Classic Stakes (1978) and the
Whitney Handicap (1978). Travers Stakes is considered to be one of the most important races in the American Horse Racing Industry. The event is held at the Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs New York every year.
He then went on to contend the Nassau County Handicap in the 1979 racing season and won the race with a track record.
On the basis of his great performances in his athletic career, Alydar was also adorned with the Leading sire in North American Award at the end of the 1990 racing season. Apart from being inducted into the 1989 United States Racing Hall of Fame , Alydar
was ranked the #27th in the Top 100 US Racehorse of the 20th Century ratings in the Blood Horse magazine.
The great racehorse then suffered an injury in his right hind leg, on the 13th of November 1990 at his stall at Calumet Farms in Lexington, Kentucky. He went through the emergency surgery treatment the very next day, but unfortunately, his leg
broke again. Then on the 15th of November, Alydar was euthanized. The owner of Calumet Farm was in serious financial troubles at that time and so he could not afford to spend a lot of money on the injured racehorse. Moreover, he was also accused
of not spending sufficient amount of money on Alydar when he was being raised in his stables. Two of the people in the management of the Farm, John Thomas Lundy and Gary Matthews were convicted and imprisoned for 21 months. The racehorse’s injury was then
speculated by the MIT Professor, George Pratt.
Being a major success as a stallion, Alydar was also a successful sire. He gave birth to the winner of the Hall of Fame Eclipse Award Easy Goer, the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Breeders’ Cup Classic champion Alysheba. His other offspring include
the champion racehorses, Turkoman, Criminal Type, Strike the Gold, Alydaress, Althea, Stella Madrid and Miss Oceana.
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