Archarcharch retired with fracture

By: SPORTS NETWORK

Louisville, KY (Sports Network) - Arkansas Derby winner Archarcharch has been retired from racing after suffering an injury during the running of Saturday's 137th Kentucky Derby. The colt underwent surgery on Sunday for a broken leg.

"The horse came through it really good, but there was too much cartilage damage for him to ever race again at that high level," owner Bob Yagos said Monday morning. "We've started looking for a stud farm to send him (in Kentucky).

"Every farm has called and inquired. If you watch the race, he stumbles out of the gate and Jon's (jockey Jon Court) saddle slips pretty badly. It says something that that is probably where the injury happened and yet he still went out there and was trying to pass horses and never really gave Jon any indications that something was that seriously wrong until the very end. It's a shame, but he showed a lot of heart. Hopefully he can pass some of that along now."

Trained by Jinks Fires, Archarcharch finishes his career with three wins in seven starts for $832,744. Along with an Arkansas Derby win, the colt won the Sugar Bowl Stakes as a two-year-old and the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park in February.

"We said all the way going into the Derby that no matter what happened we would always have that win in the Arkansas Derby," said Yagos. "We were just so happy to win that race for the people of Arkansas and for all the great support they showed us after that. We really felt like the whole state was behind us and carrying us along."

Veterinarian Larry Bramlage performed the surgery for a fractured condylar bone of the left front leg at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky.