There are 19 living Kentucky Derby winners. Here’s what they’re all doing now.
Some are overseas and considered prized stallions for the next generation of horse racing. Others have retired to a quieter life on the farm. One is still competing on the racetrack, and more than half are living in Kentucky.
In all, there are 19 living winners of the Kentucky Derby, a group that will welcome a new member when the roses are handed over Saturday evening.
Here’s a look at the current whereabouts of each of those Derby champions.
Mandaloun
Birthdate: March 18, 2018.
Status: Still in training.
One of two horses on this list that didn’t cross the Kentucky Derby finish line first, Mandaloun was named the winner of last year’s race following the disqualification of Medina Spirit, who failed a drug test after the race. Mandaloun, a son of Into Mischief and trained by Louisville native Brad Cox, went on to win the Grade 1 Haskell last summer, returned to the track in January with a victory in the Grade 3 Louisiana Stakes at Fair Grounds, but then finished ninth in the lucrative Saudi Cup in February. He was a possibility to run on this year’s Derby Day card — in the Grade 2 Alysheba Stakes — before travel problems delayed his return from Saudi Arabia, so it’s now unclear when and where Mandaloun’s next start will be. His Derby rival, Medina Spirit, tragically died in December following a workout at Santa Anita Park.
Authentic
Birthdate: May 5, 2017.
Status: Spendthrift Farm, Lexington, Ky.
Authentic was the winner of the unique 2020 Kentucky Derby, which was run in September at a nearly empty Churchill Downs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Trained by Bob Baffert, he went on to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland later that year, ending his career with six victories and two runner-up finishes in eight races. Authentic now stands stud at $70,000 at Spendthrift Farm, where his father, Into Mischief, is the star stallion (with a whopping $250,000 stud fee this season).
Country House
Birthdate: May 8, 2016.
Status: Darby Dan Farm, Lexington, Ky.
Country House was elevated to first place in the 2019 Kentucky Derby — at 65-1 odds, the second-biggest long-shot winner in the race’s history — following the disqualification of Maximum Security. The son of Lookin At Lucky missed the Preakness due to a virus and ultimately never raced again following a series of ailments, including laminitis. Country House was officially retired the following February and is now at Darby Dan Farm with a $7,500 stud fee for this year.
Justify
Birthdate: March 28, 2015.
Status: Ashford Stud, Versailles, Ky.
Justify won the 2018 Kentucky Derby in just his fourth career start and went on to win the Triple Crown later that year. He was retired after the Belmont Stakes and is the only Triple Crown winner to have an undefeated record in his racing career. Justify — a son of Scat Daddy — has a $100,000 stud fee this year at Ashford Stud in Woodford County. His first offspring was born Jan. 3, 2020, and his first crop of foals will be 3-year-olds (and, thus, Derby-eligible) in 2023.
Always Dreaming
Birthdate: Feb. 25, 2014.
Status: WinStar Farm, Versailles, Ky.
Always Dreaming won the Kentucky Derby in 2017 — for his fourth consecutive victory — but it ended up as the last win of his career, which concluded with a fifth-place finish in the Alysheba Stakes on Derby Day 2018. The son of Bodemeister was retired after that race and has been at WinStar Farm ever since. He’s standing for a $12,500 stud fee this year. His first offspring was born Jan. 6, 2020, and — like Justify — his first crop of foals will be Derby-eligible next year.
Nyquist
Birthdate: March 10, 2013.
Status: Darley, Lexington, Ky.
Nyquist was just the seventh undefeated horse to win the Kentucky Derby in the previous 100 years when he finished first in the 2016 race. He finished third in the Preakness and never won again, starting two more times before being retired ahead of the Breeders’ Cup Classic later that year. The son of Uncle Mo is standing stud for $55,000 at Darley, and he has already produced several graded stakes winners, including 2020 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies champ Vequist.
American Pharoah
Birthdate: Feb. 2, 2012.
Status: Ashford Stud, Versailles, Ky.
American Pharoah won the 2015 Kentucky Derby, later becoming the first Triple Crown champion in 37 years and finishing his career with a victory in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland. The son of Pioneerof the Nile moved to Ashford Stud in Woodford County two days after his Breeders’ Cup victory and had an initial stud fee of $200,000 in 2016. That fee is now $80,000 for the current season. American Pharoah has yet to have a Kentucky Derby starter, though Forbidden Kingdom was a top contender on the trail earlier this year. Pharoah was named to the Racing Hall of Fame last year, and he’s one of only two living Kentucky Derby winners with that honor.
California Chrome
Birthdate: Feb. 18, 2011.
Status: Arrow Stud, Hokkaido, Japan.
The first California-bred to win the Kentucky Derby in more than 50 years, California Chrome won the 2014 race as the favorite and went on to a lucrative career that included seven Grade 1 victories and American Horse of the Year honors in 2014 and 2016. The son of Lucky Pulpit started his stud career at Taylor Made Farm in Jessamine County, and his first offspring was born in January 2018. In 2019, a deal was made that sent California Chrome to stand stud in Japan, though he will return to the United States and live in retirement at Taylor Made when his stallion career is finished. His current stud fee is $35,000.
Orb
Birthdate: Feb. 24, 2010.
Status: Haras Cuatro Piedras, Uruguay.
Orb won the 2013 Kentucky Derby for his fifth consecutive victory, though he finished fourth next time out in the Preakness and never won again before being retired later that year. The son of Malibu Moon began his stallion career at Claiborne Farm in Bourbon County — where he had been born and raised — and was sold to a group of Uruguayan breeders last year. The 12-year-old horse is currently standing stud at Haras Cuatro Piedras in Progreso, Uruguay.
I’ll Have Another
Birthdate: April 1, 2009.
Status: Ocean Breeze Ranch, Bonsall, Calif.
I’ll Have Another won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness in 2012 but was scratched before the Belmont Stakes and ultimately retired before running another race. The son of Flower Alley was sold after his racing career and began his time as a stallion in Japan before eventually returning to the United States for the 2019 breeding season. I’ll Have Another was reacquired by his former owners — Paul and Zillah Reddam — in 2020 so he could remain in California, where he’s standing stud for $10,000 this year.
Animal Kingdom
Birthdate: March 20, 2008.
Status: Jbba Shizunai Stallion Station, Hokkaido, Japan.
The long-shot winner of the 2011 Kentucky Derby, Animal Kingdom raced until his 5-year-old season and won the Dubai World Cup at that age. The son of the Brazilian-bred Leroidesanimaux began his stallion career later in 2013 in Australia and has spent much of his post-racing career at Darley’s Jonabell Farm in Lexington. Animal Kingdom started a stallion run in Japan in 2020 and is still living there, now 14 years old.
Super Saver
Birthdate: March 18, 2007.
Status: Turkish Jockey Club Izmit Stallion Complex, Izmit, Turkey.
Super Saver won the 2010 Kentucky Derby as a homebred for WinStar Farm in Woodford County and started his stallion career there the following year. The son of Maria’s Mon was acquired by the Turkish Jockey Club in 2019 and is currently living there, with a stud fee of $13,000 for this year. The deal that sent Super Saver to Turkey has a provision that he will return to the United States for retirement when his time as a stallion has concluded. One of his top progeny was the fan favorite and champion sprinter Runhappy, who is the sire of Blue Grass Stakes runner-up Smile Happy, a contender in this year’s Kentucky Derby.
Mine That Bird
Birthdate: May 10, 2006.
Status: Retired, HV Ranch near Lone Oak, Texas.
The most recent gelding to win the race, Mine That Bird provided one of the biggest shockers in Kentucky Derby history, claiming the roses at 50-1 odds in 2009 and becoming the longest shot to win since Donerail in 1913. The son of Birdstone raced nine more times but never won again, though he did finish second in the Preakness and third in the Belmont Stakes. When his racing career ended, Mine That Bird settled into retirement at co-owner Mark Allen’s Double Eagle Ranch in Roswell, N.M., where he drew tourists for nearly a decade before Allen sold the ranch in 2020. The former Derby champ is now working as a pony to racehorses at HV Ranch in Texas, where Allen is assisting trainer Rosa Ramirez. “He’s a pretty good pony but he still wants to race them besides pony them,” Allen told Blood-Horse last month. “So really, I just ride him around and let him see the horses. He loves seeing everything that’s going on. He’s so smart; I love that horse.”
Big Brown
Birthdate: April 10, 2005.
Status: Irish Hill & Dutchess Views Stallions, Stillwater, N.Y.
The dominant winner of the 2008 Kentucky Derby won the Preakness before failing to finish in the Belmont Stakes — the only loss of his eight-race career — and retiring later that year. The son of Boundary began his stallion career in 2009 at Three Chimneys Farm in Woodford County with a stud fee of $65,000, and he was moved to New York in 2015. His current stud fee is $5,000, and he’s living about seven miles from Saratoga Race Course, the site of his first career race. One of Big Brown’s top progeny was Dortmund, who finished third to American Pharoah in the 2015 Kentucky Derby.
Street Sense
Birthdate: Feb. 23, 2004.
Status: Darley, Lexington, Ky
Street Sense was the 2-year-old champion in 2006 and the Kentucky Derby winner in 2007 before being retired at the end of his 3-year-old campaign. The son of Street Cry was sold to Darley Stud while still in training and remains a sought-after stallion at 18 years old. His current stud fee is $75,000, and he has sired 12 Grade 1 winners.
Giacomo
Birthdate: Feb. 16, 2002.
Status: Oakhurst Equine Veterinary Services, Newberg, Ore.
Giacomo won the 2005 Kentucky Derby at 50-1 odds and retired at the end of 2016 with three victories in 16 career races. The son of the great Holy Bull originally stood at stud at Adena Springs in Woodford County — the operation later moved to Bourbon County — with an initial fee of $12,500 and remains a stallion today, though he has since moved to the Pacific Northwest and now has a stud fee of $2,500. Giacomo lived on the same Oregon farm as 1996 Kentucky Derby winner Grindstone, who passed away at age 29 earlier this year.
Smarty Jones
Birthdate: Feb. 28, 2001.
Status: Equistar Training and Breeding, Annville, Pa.
Smarty Jones was undefeated when he won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness in 2004 before getting caught in the stretch and finishing second in the Belmont Stakes, the final race of his career. The son of Elusive Quality was just the second Pennsylvania-bred to win the Derby, and he started his stallion career at Three Chimneys Farm in Woodford County. Smarty Jones went back to Pennsylvania after several years at Three Chimneys, returned to Kentucky to stand stud at Calumet Farm, spent some time in Uruguay, and has now returned to his home state, where he has a current stud fee of $3,500 and lives near Hershey, Pa.
Funny Cide
Birthdate: April 20, 2000.
Status: Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington, Ky.
Funny Cide won the Kentucky Derby in 2003, becoming the first gelding to win the race in 74 years. The son of Distorted Humor remains the only New York-bred to win the Derby, and he ultimately retired at age 7 with a record of 11 victories in 38 career races. Funny Cide’s underdog story vaulted him to fan-favorite status, and he won the Preakness before falling short of the Triple Crown with a third-place finish in the Belmont Stakes at the track where he had won the first three races of his career. After retiring, he served as a stable pony for his trainer, Barclay Tagg, and in 2008 he moved to the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, where he remains a fan favorite and popular attraction.
Fusaichi Pegasus
Birthdate: April 12, 1997.
Status: Retired, Ashford Stud, Versailles, Ky.
Fusaichi Pegasus won the 2000 Kentucky Derby as the 2-1 favorite, finished second to Red Bullet in the Preakness and ended his career with a sixth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs later that year. The son of leading stallion Mr. Prospector was purchased as a yearling at Keeneland for $4 million by Japanese businessman Fusao Sekiguchi and sold to Coolmore for a reported $70 million — the highest price ever for a racehorse — after his Derby victory. Fusaichi Pegasus split time between Ashford Stud in Woodford County and Coolmore’s breeding operation in Australia for the first decade of his stallion career. He was retired in 2020 at age 23 and remains at Ashford Stud. He was the sire of champion Thoroughbreds in several different countries.
Silver Charm
Birthdate: Feb. 22, 1994.
Status: Retired, Old Friends, Georgetown, Ky.
Silver Charm was the first Kentucky Derby winner for trainer Bob Baffert, and he nearly won the Triple Crown in 1997, losing the Belmont Stakes to Touch Gold by less than 1 length. The son of Silver Buck had 12 victories and seven second-place finishes in 24 career starts, racing until he was 5 years old. One of six Florida-breds to win the Kentucky Derby, he started his stud career at Three Chimneys Farm in Woodford County and was purchased by the Japanese Breeders Association in 2004, beginning a run as a stallion in Japan shortly thereafter. He returned to the United States upon his retirement in 2014 and has lived at Old Friends in Georgetown ever since. Silver Charm is now 28 years old and the eldest surviving Kentucky Derby winner following the deaths of Go For Gin and Grindstone earlier this year. He was named to the Racing Hall of Fame in 2007.
This story was originally published May 2, 2022 at 5:00 AM with the headline "There are 19 living Kentucky Derby winners. Here’s what they’re all doing now.."
