16/06/2026
Alydar was born on March 23, 1975, at Calumet Farm in Lexington, Kentucky — one of the most storied addresses in American thoroughbred racing. A chestnut c**t by Raise a Native out of Sweet Tooth, he was trained throughout his career by Hall of Famer John Veitch and ridden by jockey Jorge Velásquez. He is remembered as one of the most talented horses in the history of the sport — a horse who may never have lost a race, had he been born in any other year.
In 1978, he ran in all three Triple Crown races against Affirmed. He finished second in each one. Affirmed beat Alydar by 1½ lengths in the Kentucky Derby, by a neck in the Preakness, and by a head in the Belmont Stakes. He lost to his arch-rival by a combined total of less than two lengths across the three legs.In the Belmont, the two horses dueled side by side from the far turn all the way to the wire — a stretch battle many consider among the greatest in the history of racing. Despite never winning the Triple Crown, Alydar has been described as the best horse in the history of thoroughbred racing never to have won a championship. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1989.
The Stallion Career
After retiring from racing, Alydar became one of the most celebrated sires in America. He became a prominent stallion during the 1980s and was the top North American sire in 1990. His progeny include Kentucky Derby winners Alysheba and Strike the Gold, and Belmont winner Easy Goer. His stud fee reached $250,000 — a reflection of the extraordinary demand he commanded. He was the engine that kept Calumet Farm financially alive.
The Death
On the night of November 13, 1990, Alydar was found in his stall with a severely fractured right hind leg. The official account held that the horse had kicked the stall door with such force that he shattered the bone. He underwent emergency surgery, but during recovery the leg fractured again under his own weight. On November 15, 1990, he was euthanized. He was 15 years old — and had just been named Leading Sire in North America for that very year.
The Suspicions
The circumstances of his death did not go unquestioned. Less than three weeks earlier, a Texas bank had notified Calumet Farm's owner, J.T. Lundy, that $15 million in debt had to be repaid by February 28, 1991, or the farm would face foreclosure. Calumet was losing approximately one million dollars a month. Alydar was insured for $41.5 million. Following his death, Calumet Farm collected roughly $37 million — the largest insurance payout in the history of horse racing at the time.
The physical evidence raised further doubts. An engineer testified that the force required to break the stall door mechanism was at least three times greater than what a horse could produce with a single kick, and that the broken bolts were inconsistent with the official account. That night, the regular night watchman had been replaced by a man named Alton Stone. Those who knew Alydar — grooms, handlers, the Lexington racing community — never believed the accident theory. He had no history of kicking stall doors.
The Investigation and Trial
Despite the insurance payout, Calumet Farm filed for bankruptcy just months after Alydar's death. A wide-ranging fraud and corruption investigation followed. Lundy was convicted of corruption in 2000 and served nearly four years in prison. Charges specifically connected to Alydar's death were never fully pursued.
The truth about what happened on the night of November 13, 1990 has never been definitively established. The death of Alydar remains one of the most haunting unsolved cases in the history of sport. 🐎
