Menifee (May 4, 1996 – June 13, 2019) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse that competed in the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing in 1999. His rivalry with Triple Crown contender Charismatic was compared at times with the rivalry between 1978 contenders Affirmed and Alydar , who won and placed respectively in all three races that year. He was trained by W. Elliott Walden and ridden in all three races by Pat Day .
8-575: Menifee won a come-from-behind victory in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland in his last Triple Crown prep over the highly regarded Cat Thief , Vicar, Kimberlite Pipe and Wondertross. With Pat Day riding and coming from far behind, he then placed second with a big late run just coming up a neck short in the Kentucky Derby behind eventual Horse of the Year Charismatic . Two weeks later, in
16-755: A favorite of Korean racing fans. The horse reportedly quickly learned to respond to Korean phrases, which led Jeju staff to frequently remark that "Menifee speaks Korean." Menifee died of a heart attack on June 13, 2019, at the age of 23. Blue Grass Stakes The Blue Grass Stakes , currently the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes due to sponsorship by the Toyota Motor Corporation , is a horse race for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds held annually in April at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky . The race
24-643: Is known as the "heart" of the thoroughbred racing industry. First run at the Kentucky Association track in Lexington in 1911, the Blue Grass has, from its inception, served as an important prep for the Kentucky Derby . At the Lexington Association track, the Blue Grass was staged from 1911 through 1914 and from 1919 through 1926. The race was revived at Keeneland in the spring of 1937. In 1943–1944,
32-467: Is run at 1 + 1 ⁄ 8 miles on the dirt and currently offers a purse of $ 1,000,000. The Blue Grass Stakes was a Grade I event from 1974 (when grading was first introduced) through 1989 and again from 1999 to 2016. It was a Grade II event from 2017 to 2021, and returned to a Grade I in 2022. It was named for the Bluegrass region of Kentucky , characterized by grass having bluish-green culms, which
40-472: The 1999 Preakness Stakes , he garnered a great deal of support, being sent off as the morning line favorite at 2–1 in a full field of 13 colts and 1 filly ( Silverbulletday ). In the race, Cat Thief and Vicar took the lead early while Menifee settled into mid-pack at eighth and Charismatic lagged behind in tenth. Around the second turn, Charismatic made a move on the outside and won by 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 lengths. Menifee passed Cat Thief and Badge to claim
48-619: The Blue Grass was renewed as a part of the Keeneland-at- Churchill Downs meeting. In 1945, the Blue Grass was run as part of the Churchill Downs meeting. Today it is part of the Keeneland program. From 2007 to 2014, the race was held on a synthetic "all-weather" surface . Otherwise, it has been run on a dirt surface. Fastest Time: (at Current Distance of 1 + 1 ⁄ 8 miles) Most wins by an owner Most wins by
56-741: The runner-up share of $ 200,000 in the Preakness Stakes. Menifee failed to place in the top three in the Belmont Stakes . It was the only time he finished out of the money at age three. Following the Triple Crown series in the summer of 1999, Menifee won the Grade I Haskell Invitational Handicap at Monmouth Park Racetrack , finished second in the Super Derby , and ran third in the Travers Stakes . He
64-563: Was retired from racing with 5 wins, 4 places and one show in 11 starts; two of those wins were as a two-year-old in 1998. Menifee started his stallion career at Stone Farm, where he commanded US$ 15,000 for a live cover breeding. In October 2006, it was announced that he had been sold to the Korean Racing Association to continue his stallion career at Jeju Stud Farm. He was the leading sire in South Korea from 2012 to 2019 and became
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