Alydar

Alydar was an amazing, beautiful horse. He was a chestnut stallion, his mother’s name was Sweet Tooth, and his father’s name was Raise A Native. He was born on March 23, 1975 at Calumet Farm.

Alydar was known for the exciting races he raced against Affirmed. He was also known for being the only racehorse to come in second in all triple crown races. Alydar won 14 races out of 26 starts. In his career, he earned a total of $957,195!

On a cold November night, Alydar was found in shock in his stall, his coat was shining with sweat, his right leg was hanging by tendons, a shaft of white bones were jutting through his skin. In emergency surgery, vets were able to set the bone in line, and put a cast on his leg. But within a day, Alydar put too much weight on his leg, and broke his femur. The breaking of the bone sounded like a gunshot!

The beloved Alydar was put to sleep on November 15, 1990. His body was buried in Calumet Cemetery with all of the farm's other racing horses who had died.

Eight months later, Calumet declared bankruptcy with more than $127,000,000 in debt! The farm couldn't pay the money back, so their equipment and horses were all sold at a public auction. And that's the unique, lifelong journey of Alydar.