Hail and Farewell

The great gelding Kelso dies

A walnut horse so homely and cantankerous that he was gelded as a yearling heard the sweet cheers of a racetrack crowd for the first time in 17 years, and then he died of colic the next day at the age of 26. Kelso, the great-grandson of Man o' War, was fetched to Belmont in New York State the Saturday before last along with Forego, a younger pensioner similarly handicapped. The occasion was the Jockey Club Gold Cup, a stake that Kelso won five years in a row (1960-64), when he was the horse of the year every year.

They led the post parade to promote a retirement fund for elderly Thoroughbreds, but they pranced like colts.

The particular pet of Allaire du Pont, Kelso was kept in luxury at her Woodstock Farm in Chesapeake City, Md.

Not many geldings see a pastoral ending, but the ones that earn $1,977,896 do.

That stood as the record for 13 years. In today's coin, not even John Henry's $3,906,297 would compare. Kelso won 39 of 63 races. After retirement at nine, Kelso kept busy, occasionally accompanying Du Pont on hunts. For a bachelor, he had a full life. This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.