Paddy O'Prado (February 15, 2007 – October 22, 2018) was an American

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

. Bred by

Winchell Thoroughbreds Verne Hedges Winchell (October 30, 1915 – November 26, 2002) was the founder of Winchell's Donuts and also served as a chairman, president, and chief executive officer of the Denny's restaurant chain. Early life Winchell was born on Octobe ...

, he finished third in the 2010

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

. His regular jockey was

Kent Desormeaux Kent Jason Desormeaux (born February 27, 1970) is an American thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey who holds the U.S. record for most races won in a single year with 598 wins in 1989. He has won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes t ...

Racing career

Paddy O'Prado was foaled in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

. He broke his maiden at

Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park, owned by The Stronach Group, is a Thoroughbred race track, casino and outdoor entertainment and shopping destination in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Thoroughbred horse racing occurs year-round, defined by three distinct race meets ...

on March 6, 2010, in the Grade 3 $150,000

Palm Beach Stakes The Colonel Liam Stakes is a Listed American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in late February or early March on the turf course at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida over a distance of 1 1/16 miles. A listed event open to three-yea ...

. He went on to finish second in the

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 is run ...

behind winner Stately Victor, finishing in front of

First Dude First Dude may refer to: * First Dude (horse), an American Thoroughbred racehorse * First Gentleman First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarch ...

, Interactif,

Make Music For Me Make or MAKE may refer to: *Make (magazine), a tech DIY periodical *Make (software), a software build tool *Make, Botswana, in the Kalahari Desert *Make Architects Make Architects is an international architecture practice headquartered in London ...

and

Odysseus Odysseus ( ; grc-gre, Ὀδυσσεύς, Ὀδυσεύς, OdysseúsOdyseús, ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; lat, UlyssesUlixes), is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the ''Odyssey''. Odysse ...

. Following his runner up performance in the Blue Grass, he raced in the 2010 Kentucky Derby and finished third behind Super Saver and

Ice Box An icebox (also called a cold closet) is a compact non-mechanical refrigerator which was a common early-twentieth-century kitchen appliance before the development of safely powered refrigeration devices. Before the development of electric refrige ...

. In the

Preakness Preakness may refer to: * The Preakness or Preakness Stakes, an American flat thoroughbred horse race held in Baltimore, Maryland * Preakness (horse), an American thoroughbred racehorse from Preakness Stables * Preakness, New Jersey, a section of W ...

, he was sixth. At this point, his trainer,

Dale Romans Dale L. Romans (born August 14, 1966 in Louisville, Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer, best known for winning the 2011 Preakness Stakes with Shackleford and the Breeders' Cup Turf with Little Mike. He also upset American Pha ...

, moved him back to the

turf Sod, also known as turf, is the upper layer of soil with the grass growing on it that is often harvested into rolls. In Australian and British English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', and the word "sod" is limited mainly to agricultu ...

. Paddy O'Prado then captured the Grade 2 $500,000 Colonial Turf Cup, the Grade 2 $600,000

Virginia Derby The Virginia Derby is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds over a distance of one and one-eighth miles on the turf held annually in September at Colonial Downs in New Kent County, Virginia. The event currently carries ...

, and the Grade 1 $400,000

Secretariat Stakes The Secretariat Stakes is a Graded stakes race, Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds over a distance of one mile on the Grass, turf. The event was originally raced at the now-closed Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, Illi ...

. In his 2011 four-year-old debut, on Preakness Day at Pimlico, Paddy O'Prado came from the back of the pack to take the

Dixie Stakes The Dinner Party Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in mid-May at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the eighth-oldest graded stakes race in the United States and the oldest stakes race in Maryland and all o ...

from Baryshnikov.

Retirement

Paddy O'Prado fractured one of his right rear

sesamoid bone In anatomy, a sesamoid bone () is a bone embedded within a tendon or a muscle. Its name is derived from the Arabic word for ' sesame seed', indicating the small size of most sesamoids. Often, these bones form in response to strain, or can be pres ...

s during the Dixie Stakes. He was permanently retired from racing on May 22, 2011. O'Prado stood at

Spendthrift Farm Spendthrift Farm is a thoroughbred race horse breeding farm and burial site in Lexington, Kentucky, currently owned by Eric & Tammy Gustavson. It was founded by Leslie Combs II and named for the great stallion Spendthrift, who was owned by Combs' a ...

for a stud fee of $5,000 before being sent to stud in Turkey, where he died in a

paddock A paddock is a small enclosure for horses. In the United Kingdom, this term also applies to a field for a general automobile racing competition, particularly Formula 1. Description In Canada and the United States of America, a paddock is a small ...

accident before the beginning of the 2018 breeding season.

References

{{reflist 2007 racehorse births 2018 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Thoroughbred family 8-d