Derby-Winning Filly Dead at 31

Genuine Risk, one of only three fillies to win the Kentucky Derby, died this morning in Virginia. She was 31. The 1980 Derby winner died peacefully after eating a hearty breakfast and being turned out in her paddock, said an administrator at Newstead Farm, adding that the chestnut mare had not been ill. Genuine Risk was the only filly to finish in the top three in each of the Triple Crown races.

Genuine Risk was the oldest living Derby winner. Ridden by Jacinto Vasquez, she captured the Derby, was second to Codex in a controversial Preakness, and ran second in the Belmont. "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. "We are truly blessed that she was a part of our life." (More obituary stories.)