Eight legendary figures from the Thoroughbred industry were inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, on August. 6 at the Fasig-Tipton Sales Pavilion in
Lexington, KY. Included were jockeys Jose Santos and John Sellers; trainers Henry Forrest, Frank McCabe and John Veitch; and the horses Mom’s Command, Swoon’s Son, and Silver Charm (pictured).

“My favorite horse of all time, no question, hands down, is Silver Charm,” said retired jockey and Hall of Fame member Gary Stevens, who rode the colt to victory in the 1997 Kentucky Derby and Preakness and presented the induction award to former owner Beverly Lewis.

Racing from 1996 to 1999 for trainer Bob Baffert, Silver Charm won 12 and placed second or third in nine of 24 starts with $6,944,369 in earnings. He lost the Belmont Stakes by three-quarters of a length to Touch Gold, who was able to sneak past him on the far outside in the final strides as Free House obstructed his view (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lz2iIOn5mZ4).

Silver Charm had held off Captain Bodgit in the Kentucky Derby; and Captain Bodgit and Free House on either side in the Preakness; and the outcome of the 1997 Belmont Stakes and racing history might have been different, if Stevens and the gray colt had known that Touch Gold and not Free House was the threat that day in June.

Silver Charm received an Eclipse Award as champion 3-year-old in 1997 and went on at four to claim six more graded stakes wins and defeat Swaim by a nose in the Dubai Cup.

Today, Silver Charm stands at Shizuni Stallion Station in Japan. When he was sold in 2005, his sale agreement included a “buy-back clause” in anticipation of his eventual retirement from stud. Following the tragic death of the great racehorse Ferdinand, who was sent to a slaughterhouse at the end of his breeding career in Japan, some owners are now including buy-back clauses within their stallion contracts. The New York Owners and Breeder’s Association, based in Saratoga Springs, also asks for a small voluntary per-race charge, collected from owners of New York Breds, known as the “Ferdinand Fee.” These fees go to the Bluegrass Charities and the Thoroughbred Charities of America to help them fund racehorse rescue and retirement groups.