Champion racehorse Slew O' Gold, who was defeated in dramatic fashion by Wild Again in the inaugural running of the Breeders' Cup Classic back in 1984 but still won champion older male honors, was euthanized yesterday because of infirmities of old age. He was 27 years old.
These pictures of Slew O' Gold were taken on August 1, 1989, at Three Chimneys Farm, where his sire, Seattle Slew, stood for several years. Slew O' Gold was a rangy bay, almost as tall as Forego. He had a beautiful head.
From the report:
Slew o’ Gold, who was pensioned in August of 2002, was euthanized due to the infirmities of old age. “It’s been well documented that Slew o’ Gold had Cushing’s disease and EPM, but he had a variety of other ailments as well,” said Three Chimneys veterinarian Dr. Jim Morehead. “Once we devised his air conditioned stall this summer, he was quite comfortable but he was very happy last week when we finally got some cooler weather."
"Sandy (Hatfield, Three Chimneys stallion manager) commented that he practically dragged his groom to the paddock every morning last week. Indeed, on Sunday morning, he was jogging in his paddock. But Sunday afternoon he had a convergence of symptoms that told us his system was failing, and he was euthanized Sunday evening."
