Obituary: A horse said to be the oldest living thoroughbred in the United States has passed away at the age of 39. The horse, New Years Eve, died in Pennsylvania. He is said to have been the second-oldest U.S. thoroughbred ever:
We shared his story in March, shortly after his official birthday. Called 'Axl' by those closest to him, the beloved dark bay was foaled the same year as Sunday Silence and Easy Goer. History's oldest-known American Thoroughbred, a gelding named Dead Solid Perfect, died in 2022 at 39 years and 188 days. New Years Eve was 39 years and 57 days when he passed.
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And here is a belated obituary of the horse believed to have been the oldest thoroughbred on record, Dead Solid Perfect.
Snip:
Rush, foaled May 4, 1983, lived to 39 years and 188 days—far beyond the average life of a Thoroughbred of 25-28 years, according to various internet resources. Though records are not kept for the oldest Thoroughbred by The Jockey Club, due in part to the difficulties of needing death notifications from every Thoroughbred horse owner, Rush is widely believed to have been an American record setter.
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2024 Canadian Horse of the Year Patches O'Houlahan, a five-year-old, had to be euthanized because of complications resulting from an injury:
Owner-breeder Frank DiGiulio Jr. announced Thursday that his 2024 Canadian Horse of the Year, Patches O’Houlihan, was euthanized, 12 days after suffering a serious suspensory injury while winning the Grade 2 Highlander on the main turf at Woodbine.
“After sustaining a soft-tissue injury while galloping out after winning the Highlander Stakes, it was hoped that he would recover well enough to be retired to pasture,” DiGiulio said. “However, in the time since then, his prognosis worsened. We consulted with veterinarians and surgeons on an ongoing basis, and it was determined surgery was not a viable option for a sustained quality of life.”
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On the human front: I had wondered why I hadn't heard from commentator and former political adviser David Gergen. Now I know, and it is horrible what he and his family went through. Gergen died at the age of 83 in a Massachusetts retirement home. I completely missed this, but his daughter had announced in December her father was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia, which is a horrible way to go.
Gergen was an adviser to four presidents and was frequently seen on news shows. He was always worth listening to.
“Watching the wrecking ball of Lewy body dementia careen into the fortress of my father’s mind has been devastating,” she wrote.
Gergen served under President Richard Nixon as a speechwriting director, and under Presidents Gerald Ford and Ronald Regan as the White House communications director. Gergen then served as an official counselor to President Bill Clinton.
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