Here's where you can visit all 28 Kentucky Derby winning horses buried in Bluegrass State
Situated in front of the Kentucky Derby Museum is a 1,500-pound sculpture of 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro with his ashes buried beneath it. The memorial is an attraction for those who visit Churchill Downs, with many people taking pictures next to Barbaro's statue.
The museum grounds is also the final resting place for five other Derby winning horses. Kentucky is home to many of the Derby's deceased champions: 28 in total, including eight Triple Crown winners. And you can visit many of them.
Here is where every winner is buried:
Kentucky Derby Museum
Barbaro: After winning the Kentucky Derby by 6 ½ lengths in 2006, he shattered his leg at the Preakness and died about seven months later from complications with laminitis.
Brokers Tip: His only career win was the 1933 Kentucky Derby in what is famously referred to as the “Fighting Finish Derby” due to the actions of his jockey, Don Meade, and Head Play’s jockey, Herb Fisher, that caused both to receive 30-day suspensions. He was donated to the University of California-Davis and died there in 1953, but his remains rest at Churchill Downs.
Carry Back: He won the 1961 Kentucky Derby, was a Belmont Stakes win away from the Triple Crown and was named that year's Champion Three-Year-Old. He died in 1983.
Dust Commander: He won the 1970 Derby and went on to win eight races in 42 starts. He later sired 1975 Preakness winner Master Derby and died in 1991. Dust Commander's remains were lost for a time before his skeleton was found in Paris, Kentucky, and shipped to Churchill Downs in 2013.
Sunny’s Halo: He was the second Canadian-born horse to win the Kentucky Derby, accomplishing the feat in 1983, and the first to total more than $1 million during his 3-year-old season. Inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 1986, Sunny’s Halo sired 36 stakes winners and was euthanized in 2003 after he was unable to stand up.
Swaps: The 1955 Kentucky Derby winner was named the United States Horse of the Year in 1956. The California-bred horse won 19 races in 25 starts and died in 1972.
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Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington
Alysheba: “Sheba” was foaled in 1984 at Hamburg Place Farm in Lexington and inducted into the National Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame in 1993. He won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes in 1987 and retired as horse racing’s highest lifetime earner with $6,679,242. Alysheba was euthanized on March 27, 2009 after falling in his stall.
Bold Forbes: Bold Forbes won the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes in 1976. The year before, he won seven of eight starts and was the Champion Two-Year-Old colt in Puerto Rico. He sired 13 crops through 1990 and was euthanized on Aug. 9, 2000 after suffering from renal failure and complications with gastroenteritis.
Go for Gin: The 1994 Kentucky Derby winner had a record of 5-7-2 in 19 starts before retiring at 4 years old. A resident of Kentucky Horse Park, he was briefly the oldest living Derby winner following Sea Hero's death in 2019 before dying March 8, 2022 due to heart failure at age 30.
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Faraway Farm in Lexington
War Admiral: He became the fourth Triple Crown winner in 1937. Though he won 21 of 26 races, he is often remembered for losing his match race to Seabiscuit in 1938. The horse died in 1959 and was buried next to his famous father, Man o’ War, at Faraway Farm in Lexington.
Claiborne Farm in Paris
Gallant Fox: He became the second Triple Crown winner after jockey Earl Sande came out of retirement in 1930. Gallant Fox only raced for two seasons, winning 11 of 17 starts. He sired 1935 Triple Crown winner Omaha and died in 1954.
Riva Ridge: The 1969 foal, famously stablemates with Secretariat, was a Preakness win away from the Triple Crown in 1972. Riva Ridge won 17 races in 30 starts. He died of a heart attack on April 21, 1985.
Secretariat: Fifty years ago, Secretariat, foaled in 1970, became the ninth Triple Crown winner, setting new track records in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes while setting the world record of 2:24 on a 1 1/2 dirt track in the Belmont Stakes. All three records still stand. "Big Red" had 653 foals, including 57 stakes winners, before dying of laminitis in 1989.
Unbridled: Foaled in 1987, Unbridled won the Kentucky Breeders’ Cup Classic and Kentucky Derby in 1990. The sire of 38 stakes winners, he was euthanized on Oct. 18, 2001 after suffering from colic.
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Nuckols Farm in Midway
Monarchos: Foaled in 1998, Monarchos earned $1,720,830 during his career, which included the Kentucky Derby and Florida Derby in 2001. He died Oct. 22, 2016 after undergoing surgery to repair a ruptured intestine.
Darley at Jonabell in Lexington
Affirmed: The 11th Triple Crown winner in 1978, Affirmed was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 1980. The two-time Horse of the Year was euthanized in 2001 after a battle with laminitis and buried whole, a rare honor for race horses, wearing pink, the color of his original owners and breeders at Harbor View Farm.
Hill ‘n’ Dale near Keeneland
Seattle Slew: The 1977 Triple Crown winner won 14 of his 17 races, earning $1,208,726 over his career. He died in his sleep on the 25th anniversary of his Kentucky Derby victory.
Greentree Farm in Lexington
Winning Colors: The mare is one of only three fillies to ever win a Kentucky Derby, achieving the feat in 1988. She also won the Santa Anita Oaks and Santa Anita Derby. Winning Colors was euthanized after a bout with colic in 2008.
Calumet Farm in Lexington
Iron Liege: Best known for winning the 1957 Kentucky Derby by just a nose, Iron Liege is a descendant of War Admiral. He died of a heart attack in 1972.
Whirlaway: The 1938 foal became the fifth Triple Crown winner in 1941 and was a two-time Horse of the Year. He died in 1953 and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame six years later.
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Citation: The eighth Triple Crown winner in 1948, Citation was the first horse to earn $1 million during a 45-race career that included a 16-race winning streak. He died in 1970.
Forward Pass: Foaled in 1965, Forward Pass was the first horse to be declared the Kentucky Derby winner due to a disqualification in 1968, though he wasn’t officially declared until five years later. He won the Preakness Stakes that year as well and died of colic in 1980.
Stoner Creek Farm in Paris
Count Fleet: The 1943 Triple Crown winner, Count Fleet won 16 races in 21 starts. He’s the longest-living Derby winner on record at 33 years, 8 months and 9 days after dying in 1973.
Old Friends Farm in Georgetown
Charismatic: Only three horses had won the Kentucky Derby with longer odds when Charismatic, at 31-1, pulled off the shocking upset in 1999. He won the Preakness in a similar upset but lost the Belmont Stakes that year, missing out on the Triple Crown. He died in 2017 of bleeding due to a severe pelvis fracture.
War Emblem: The Kentucky-bred horse, who was trained by Bob Baffert, missed out on the Triple Crown in 2002 after finishing eighth in the Belmont Stakes. He died in 2020 due to a perceived fatal paddock accident.
Medina Spirit is also buried at Old Friends. The horse finished first in the 2021 Kentucky Derby but was disqualified after he tested positive for betamethasone. He collapsed and died after a workout in December 2021.
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Coolmore Ashford Stud Farm in Versailles
Thunder Gulch: Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes victories earned the horse the U.S. Champion Three-Year-Old honor in 1995. He won nine races in 16 starts and died from old age in 2018.
Pillar Stud in Lexington
Tomy Lee: The England-bred horse became the second non-American Thoroughbred to win a Kentucky Derby in 1959. With 14 wins under his belt, Tomy Lee died from a severe kidney infection in 1971.
Spendthrift Farm in Lexington
Proud Clarion: A 30-1 longshot, Proud Clarion won the 1967 Kentucky Derby over favorite Damascus. The horse only won six total races and died in 1981.
Where other Triple Crown winners are buried
Sir Barton, Washington Park (Wyoming)
Omaha, Ak-Sar-Ben racetrack (Nebraska)
Assault, King Ranch (Texas)
Reach Louisville football, women's basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter at @Alexis_Cubit.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville to Paris: Where Kentucky Derby winners are buried in state
