“In any other year..." It is a refrain often repeated in horse racing when it comes to the name Alydar. Alydar will always be remembered for his courageous efforts -- both on and off the racetrack. The Kentucky-bred runner's name is forever etched in racing history as the arch rival of racing icon Affirmed whom he pushed and pursued through a series of magnificent duals in the 1978 Triple Crown. Over a series of 10 races spanning two years, the gallant competitors battled down the stretch time and again, capturing the hearts and imagination of racing fans across the globe. While Affirmed bested Alydar 7-3 in their epic track duels, Alydar ultimately turned the tables on the rivalry in the breeding shed, becoming one of the most successful and pre-eminent sires in the Thoroughbred industry. Some racing historians denote Alydar represented the last hurrah of the Wright family's Calumet Farm golden era. With earnings of nearly over $967,000 from 26 starts with 14 victories (and only one out of the money placing) the muscular chestnut colt scored several prestigious graded stakes victories including the Great American, Tremont and Champagne Stakes in 1977 as well as the Flamingo, Florida Derby, Blue Grass, Travers and Whitney Handicap in 1978. Yet it was his pulse-pounding Triple Crown contests with Affirmed where Alydar would be recognized as the only horse in American racing history to finish second in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes. Following his racing career, Alydar quickly emerged as one of America's premier stallions, siring champions Easy Goer, Alysheba, Criminal Type, Turkoman and Althea, as well as stakes winners Benchmark, Strike the Gold, Stella Madrid, and Miss Oceana among many others before his still-debated mysterious demise from a stall accident in 1990. This significant front stallion shoe is gold-plated (with plating partially worn off) emanates directly from Calumet Farm and is mounted on a tooled solid oak plaque measuring 9" x 7" with engraved brass nameplate. The shoe still contains the remnants of embedded stall shavings and is accompanied by letters of authenticity and full provenance.