2017 Kentucky Derby Winner Always Dreaming Dies of Colic

[Wandering Eyes]

Always Dreaming (Bodemeister–Above Perfection, by In Excess {Ire}), the 2017 Kentucky Derby winner, died of colic Tuesday, December 10 at River Oaks Farm in Oklahoma, according to Chad Schumer, who brokered the deal to send the stallion from WinStar Farm where he originally stood to River Oaks.

“The horse was sick,” said Schumer. “He had a very typical colic, and they brought him to the clinic. He was there for four days. They didn't do any surgery on him. Everything was fine. He seemed to be okay. He turned the corner. They sent him back to the farm, and I think it was the cecum in his stomach, it just burst.”

The cecum is a large, muscular part of a horse's large intestine that digests fiber and other food.

“It was very unexpected in the sense that they thought they were over the hurdle of him having the colic,” said Schumer. “So it was particularly devastating, because they thought, `oh, God, this horse is sick, they went through the whole four days of him getting better, thinking everything is going to be okay, and he just went downhill very quickly.”

“The passing of Always Dreaming is a profound loss. He was a remarkable horse—on and off the racetrack—and his absence will be deeply felt by everyone who had the privilege to work with him, including all of us here at WinStar,” said Elliot Walden. “He will always be remembered as a brilliantly fast horse who won the Kentucky Derby (G1) and the Florida Derby (G1). Our thoughts go out to everyone at River Oaks Farm, where Always Dreaming was going to become the first Kentucky Derby winner in history to stand in the state of Oklahoma.”

Always Dreaming sired five crops with three at racing age. He claimed one graded winner, five black type winners, and four who placed in black type races. His most successful offspring has been GI Pennsylvania Derby hero Saudi Crown, who went on to run third in the G1 Saudi Cup this year. That grey also claimed the GIII Louisiana Stakes in 2024. Other Listed winners include Tocayo; Bricklayer in Canada; Brittany's Dream; and the late Grand Isle.

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