1990 Derby Champion Euthanized

Unbridled, the 1990 Kentucky Derby champion, was euthanized after a bout of colic.

The 14-year-old stallion, who had been at Claiborne Farm near Paris, Ky., was put down at the Hagyard-Davidson-McGee Clinic on Thursday after it was determined that the condition was terminal.

“He’d had two previous operations and never fully gotten over the problem,” said Gus Koch, farm manager at Claiborne.

Unbridled had surgery Sept. 21, after several bouts of colic this summer. He had a second operation Sept. 27, and returned to Claiborne Oct. 8.

The horse seemed to be recovering nicely until problems developed Thursday, Koch said.

Unbridled won eight of 24 career starts and earned nearly $4.5 million. As a 3-year-old in 1990, he beat Summer Squall in the Kentucky Derby and Ibn Bey in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.