'Risk,' filly winner of Derby, is dead

August 19, 2008

Genuine Risk was a fabulous filly who dared to take on the boys in the 1980 Kentucky Derby and wound up in the winner's circle draped in a blanket of roses.

One of just three fillies to win America's greatest race, Genuine Risk died yesterday at Newstead Farm in Upperville, Va., at the advanced age of 31. Hall of Fame trainer Leroy Jolley said an "unbelievable determination to win" made Genuine Risk a horse for the ages.

"She wanted to win and she would run so hard that after some of her races, she just practically would lay down for three or four days," Jolley said in a telephone interview from Saratoga Springs, N.Y. "She would run very, very hard and give it all she had every time."

Genuine Risk died peacefully about 7:30a.m. after eating a hearty breakfast and being turned out in her paddock, said Cindy Perry, an office administrator at the farm. Perry said the filly had not been ill.

After her Derby win, she was second to Codex in a controversial Preakness, then ran second at the Belmont Stakes, marking the only time a filly has finished in the money in all three Triple Crown races. She won 10 of 15 career races, and did not finish worse than third for Jolley.

"Genuine Risk was an amazing horse with tremendous heart that lived a life befitting a champion," owners Bertram and Diane Firestone said in a statement issued by the farm. Genuine Risk stunned the racing world in the 106th Derby. Under Jacinto Vasquez, the filly took a commanding lead in the stretch and outran Rumbo and Jaklin Klugman to win at 13-1 odds. She paid $26.80 to win in becoming the first filly since Regret in 1915 to take the Derby. The filly Winning Colors won in 1988.

In the Preakness, Vasquez was bringing her up quickly to challenge on the outside in the stretch against Codex when Codex drifted wide and bumped her, a move that many thought deprived Genuine Risk of a chance to win. Vasquez lodged a complaint against Angel Cordero, Codex's jockey, but the stewards let the results stand.

Genuine Risk was purchased for $32,000 by the Firestones at the request of their 14-year-old son, Matthew, in 1978. She won the Eclipse Award as the 3-year-old filly champion and was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 1986.