Horse Racing News – Death and Retirement in the Industry
Prince Khalid bin Abdullah Passes Away: One of the most successful owners in the history of horse racing passed away earlier this week. Prince Khalid bin Abdullah, 83, the owner of Juddmonte Farms, died from undisclosed reasons on Tuesday.
To say that Prince Khalid was prolific during his time in the sport is putting things rather mildly. Over the years, he owned over 500 stakes winners. All the more impressive is that 440 of those winners were bred by him, too.
Given that information, it is perhaps no real surprise that Prince Khalid received so many awards and acclaim during his career. He won four Eclipse Awards for top owner and five for top breeder. Arrogate, Empire Maker, and Enable were just a few of his better-known horses.
Thousand Words Retired
Last week, we saw Mucho Gusto forced into retirement, and now this week we have horse racing news that multiple stakes race winner Thousand Words will also be retiring. The 4-year-old son of Pioneer of the Nile will head to Spendthrift Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, where he will be put to stud.
Thousand Words did not take long to get started with accumulating wins, breaking his maiden in his first race at Santa Anita Park as a 2-year-old. He then followed that up with a win at the Los Alamitos Futurity (G2), making for a great juvenile season. In his 3-year-old-season, Thousand Words had wins at the Robert B. Lewis (G3) and the Shared Belief Stakes, setting himself up as one of the top contenders for the Kentucky Derby. Unfortunately, he never got to start in the Run for the Roses, as he was scratched after a paddock accident.
Thousand Words had four wins and a second in his 9-race career, earning $327,500 in the process. He will now be part of the “Share The Upside” breeding program at Spendthrift Farms, with appointment only inspections set to begin immediately.
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