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Description
After winning the 1978 Blue Grass Stakes, Alydar is taken to the Keeneland Club house rail to be seen by owners of Calumet Far, Mr. and Mrs. Gene Markey.
Alydar’s great rivalry with Affirmed is considered by many as the top rivalry in the history of racing.
As a 2-year-old, he defeated Affirmed in both the 1977 Great American Stakes and Champagne Stakes. Alydar placed second in all three 1978 Triple Crown races behind Affirmed, losing by a neck in the Preakness Stakes and by a head in the Belmont Stakes.
Alydar was a product of Calumet Farm and was retired there for stud duty. 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. During his racing and stallion careers he reinvigorated the legendary status of Calumet Farm.
Both sides of Alydar’s pedigree trace back to the Darley Arabian.
Curation Date
4-2015
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Keywords
Horse, Thoroughbred, Pedigree, Alydar
Photo Source
Keeneland Association Photographic Collection, Keeneland Library, Lexington, KY