Derby winner Charismatic has died
Former Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Charismatic, whose bid for the Triple Crown ended with a dramatic leg injury as he neared the finish line in the Belmont Stakes, has died at a thoroughbred retirement farm in Kentucky.
The striking chestnut horse, winner of the first two legs of the Triple Crown in 1999, was found dead in his stall Sunday at Old Friends farm near Georgetown, Ky., the farm said.
“Right now, everyone is pretty much inconsolable,” Old Friends President Michael Blowen said. “He was a really tough horse and he deserved a much longer retirement.
“Everyone at Old Friends takes solace from the few great months that this great champion gave us.”
The stallion ate all his food Saturday and looked fine, Blowen said Monday.
The cause of death is unknown and a full necropsy was being done. The farm said that Charismatic was 21.
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