The stall door was open and the 15-year-old stallion Alydar was standing with his rear to the door. He was being held by Alton Stone, the night watchman. The horse was obviously favoring his right hind leg, unable to place weight on that foot. Only a slight amount of blood was visible on the straw. Dr. Baker described the injury as a very serious fracture of the cannon bone, which was beginning to protrude from the skin. The cannon bone can be compared to the shin bone on a person, and Alydar’s was now becoming a compound fracture. Under ordinary circumstances, the vet would have probably already called for euthanasia due to possible lack of blood circulation and early infection.
Lundy appeared to be in shock. He had an anxious look on his face and paced restlessly around the barn, mumbling to himself as though this could not be happening. When the subject of euthanasia came up, he told Dr. Baker, “But this is Alydar; we have to do something.” Lundy then put in a phone call to Dr. Larry Bramlage, with Dr. Baker and I concurring. I could only hear one side of the telephone conversation, but it was obvious that Dr. Bramlage wasn’t offering much hope after listening to both Dr. Baker and Lundy. He did, however, agree to come to the farm and examine the horse.
Dr. Bramlage, a world-renowned surgeon from Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, arrived very shortly thereafter at about 11:00 p.m., less than an hour after I had first gotten the word. He confirmed the horse had a mid-shaft transverse (crossways) fracture of the cannon bone in the right hind leg. The possibility of surgery was first thought to be hopeless. There was some talk about the possibility of a prosthesis, but this was quickly ruled out. After some discussion among the three vets it was decided to medicate the horse heavily for the night and then make an evaluation the next morning. A simple splint was made and covered with a temporary fiberglass cast. At that point Alydar laid down and for the remainder of the night his head was literally held by Dr. Rhodes and Sandy Hatfield, the farm’s broodmare manager. The pain-killing medication was to be stopped at 4:30 a.m. and everyone was to meet back at the farm at seven the next morning.
At the time of the injury there was great debate in the media and the public as to just exactly how the injury had occurred. Both vets who first arrived at the scene described the injury occurring as a result of Alydar’s “kicking the stall door.” Dr. Bramlage provided a two-page, single-spaced letter describing his efforts to save the horse and offering no dispute as to how the injury had occurred. Visual observation and numerous photographs described Alydar as kicking the bottom portion of his stall door, breaking off a metal rail guide for the sliding door. This allowed the door frame itself to protrude outwards, and while kicking the door Alydar’s right hind foot had become entangled. He was able to free the foot but in doing so apparently fell forward, and in an attempt to catch his fall twisted the cannon bone in his right hind leg. This was disputed in a much later court hearing.
THE RUMORS BEGIN:
A lot of rumor, gossip, and innuendo have persisted over the past two decades, during which time I made a lot of TV appearances and gave numerous interviews. I always ended by saying if someone had knowledge of things happening any differently than I have described to please let me know. No one has responded.
Affirmed was in a stall in the aisle nearby and slept through it all… Everyone remembers their racing duels throughout the Triple Crown, but few knew these two competitors shared the same barn that fateful night.
That debate continues today. In order to respond to that debate, I have three questions to the doubters: Were you there the night the horse was injured? Were you there the morning of the surgery? Were you there when the horse was put down for humane reasons? Only a few people can say yes to all three and those are the only people who really know the injury as it occurred.
There was also a lot of second-guessing by vets who never saw the horse, did not see the X-rays, and did not participate in the surgery. One rumor had stablemate Secreto and Alydar in a fight. This apparently started when Dr. Baker had to give Secreto a shot to calm him down due to the excitement in the barn. It was late at night, the lights had been turned on, phones were ringing and beepers were going off, and there were a lot of people milling around.
Affirmed was in a stall in the aisle nearby and slept through it all. Everyone remembers the racing duels between Affirmed and Alydar throughout the Triple Crown but few remember they shared the same barn that night. The craziest rumor was made during the Rush Limbaugh radio program. This occurred during the later perjury trial of night watchman Alton Stone. Limbaugh had a guest host for that broadcast, and it was during the period when Congress had impeached President Bill Clinton. The radio commentator compared
Stone and Clinton and made mention of “that horse in Kentucky that died in the barn fire.”
Before we go to surgery, let’s talk a little about Alydar and why he was insured for more than $32 million. I represented that portion for the London insurance market and the remainder was with the Golden Eagle Insurance Company. Alydar was the only horse at that time to finish second in all three of the Triple Crown races, losing each time to Affirmed. He retired with 14 wins in 26 starts and earnings of $957,195.
Alydar is short for Aly Darling, which was the nickname Calumet Farm owner Mrs. Gene Markey had for her friend, the Aly Khan. Alydar’s 1990 stud fee was $250,000, or $175,000 for no guarantee. In his last year at stud he covered 97 mares, and his 32 yearlings that sold at public auction that year averaged $472,188. Lundy was heavily criticized for the number of mares bred to Alydar. Today, breeding 100-plus mares is quite common. At the time of his death, Alydar was No. 1 on the leading active sires list and No. 2 on the list of leading sires for 1990 earnings. A no guarantee season was sold at auction in 1990 for $126,000.
His first crop produced two millionaires with 45 stakes winners in 10 crops and earnings of $35 million. His produce included Alysheba, winner of $6.7 million, and Criminal Type, who would be named 1990 Horse of the Year. A large part of the insurance was for lifetime breeding rights, and these sold at various prices. By not syndicating the horse, Lundy was able to call all the shots and control the fees.
This might be a good time to mention some facts for all the conspiracy theorists, and they are still out there. Many have long thought Alydar was killed for insurance money. Considering the bad financial situation for Calumet Farm at that time, this is good meat for the uninformed and ill advised. The fact is, the farm’s financial problems were a well-kept secret, and I certainly wasn’t privy to the details. It is true that some of the insurance premiums were overdue, but the policies were never cancelled for non-payment and as long as they are not cancelled they offer all benefits. Many policies in the farming or livestock industry have premiums due during the year that are not paid until November or December. This practice goes back many years when tobacco farmers sold their crops at the end of the season and paid most of the farm debts at that time.
There were also rumors about the fact that the “regular” adjuster, Terry McVeigh, was not called about the horse’s injury. Kathy Jones had tried to call him but he wasn’t returning calls. This was long before cell phones and by the time he could find a phone to call his answering service, Kathy had already called me due to the horse involved, and she advised Terry of that fact. The following day, Golden Eagle did assign Terry to its interest and that next morning I shared all my notes with him. It is my understanding he was taken off the claim shortly thereafter. Terry had worked for me at one time, then left to form his own equine adjusting firm.
Due to the amount of insurance involved, I felt certain the London underwriters would be sending in squads of attorneys, accountants, private investigators, etc., but the case was left with me alone. Basically, I was instructed to handle the claim and I never received any specific instructions or orders. I’ve been told this was a compliment to me but I have often thought some extra eyes and minds might have helped me answer the pundits’ questions.
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