The 'Big Red Train' to pull into Kentucky Horse Park next year

Hall of Famer Point Given has been pensioned from stallion duty at Calumet Farm and will join the Kentucky Horse Park next year.

The 19-year-old son of Thunder Gulch – nicknamed the 'Big Red Train' due to his imposing stature and chestnut colouring – bounced back from being the beaten favourite behind Monarchos in the Kentucky Derby to take the last two legs of the Triple Crown, the Preakness and Belmont Stakes.

Point Given went on to win the Haskell Invitational and Travers Stakes that season, becoming the first horse to win four races worth $1 million or more in a row. He was crowned Eclipse champion three-year-old and Horse of the Year.

He also finished a nose second to Macho Uno in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and won the Hollywood Futurity at two, and scored in the Santa Anita Derby on his three-year-old debut.

Point Given did not excel in his second career at stud, as illustrated by a stud fee that started at $125,000 at his initial home of Three Chimneys Farm and dropped to just $5,000 at Calumet this year.

He did, however, sire 15 Graded stakes winners including Canadian horse of the year Sealy Hill as well as Go Between, Coil and Point Ashley, who triumphed at the top level.

Kentucky Horse Park executive director Laura Prewitt said: "We're so pleased to welcome this handsome and impressive chestnut stallion to the Hall of Champions, and we thank his connections for entrusting him to our care.

"We believe he will serve as an excellent ambassador to his breed and the sport of racing for the hundreds of thousands of visitors to the park each year."

Point Given – inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2010 – will be available to view at the Kentucky Horse Park from next April.

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