Serena's Song, a champion and first-ballot Hall of Famer who went on to be a blue-hen broodmare, died Wednesday morning at her longtime home of Denali Stud in Paris, Ky. She officially turned 34 this year, and would have reached her foaling date on April 4. "What a privilege it has been," Denali, the operation of the Bandoroff family, wrote on its social media channels in reporting the mare's passing. Serena's Song had resided at the farm since December 1996, upon her retirement from racing. "She passed away peacefully from old age," the farm's statement continued. "Serena will be laid to rest at her lifelong home with us at Denali Stud. We would like to thank everyone for their continued love and support of her over the years, especially the Lewis family, and all of our staff and vets that cared for her on a daily basis. “She meant the world to all of us, and changed us all for the better. We love you Serena, thank you for everything." Serena's Song, by Rahy and out of the Northfields mare Imagining, was bred by Dr. Howard Baker and was foaled at Crestwood Farm in Kentucky. She was a $42,000 Keeneland November weanling purchase by Bridlewood Farm, and then was selected by the legendary late trainer D. Wayne Lukas out of the 1993 Keeneland July yearling sale. :: DRF Road to the Derby Package Available Now! Save 37% on key handicapping essentials through Kentucky Derby day. She was thus pinhooked for $150,000 to Robert and Beverly Lewis – relatively new owners at the time who would become a beloved first couple of horse racing in the 1990s. Serena's Song also became a beloved fan favorite, and is considered one of the best horses Lukas ever trained. Serena's Song made 10 starts in her 2-year-old campaign of 1994, with victories in the Grade 1 Oak Leaf, Grade 1 Hollywood Starlet, and Grade 2 Landaluce. She was best known that season for a hard-fought second to Lukas-trained stablemate Flanders, owned by Overbrook Farm, in the 1994 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. Flanders, who incurred a career-ending injury in that gallant finish, earned the divisional Eclipse. Serena's Song opened her 3-year-old campaign with victories against fillies in California in the Grade 3 Santa Ynez, Grade 1 Las Virgenes, and Grade 1 Santa Anita Oaks. She then shipped to Kentucky to face colts in the Grade 2 Jim Beam at Turfway Park – a move that Lukas demurred was more to take a shot at a hefty purse and run at the Kentucky Oaks distance of 1 1/8 miles than to entertain Derby aspirations. :: View Serena's Song's Past Performances. But when Serena's Song scored a front-running 3 1/2-length victory in the Jim Beam, becoming the only filly ever to win the race, it indeed propelled her into the Kentucky Derby, where she set a scorching pace before fading to 16th. Serena's Song bounced out of the Derby with good energy. Thirteen days later, she won the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan at Pimlico, then took the Grade 1 Mother Goose on the eve of the Belmont Stakes. Although she finished second in the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks, she was set up for another try against males, and another historic victory in the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park. After pressing the pace, she opened up by five lengths into the stretch, then held sway by three-quarters of a length. She was the first filly to win the Haskell. The only one to match the accomplishment is fellow Hall of Famer Rachel Alexandra. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Serena's Song subsequently won the Grade 1 Gazelle Handicap; finished second in the Grade 2 Turfway Park Breeders' Cup; and then won the Grade 1 Beldame over champion and future fellow Hall of Famer Heavenly Prize in another key showdown.  In the 1995 Breeders' Cup Distaff at Belmont Park, Serena's Song seemed to struggle with the sloppy track, finishing fifth behind another future member of the Hall of Fame, Inside Information, and her stablemate Heavenly Prize. Serena's Song had already done enough to secure the Eclipse Award as the season's outstanding 3-year-old filly. Serena's Song returned to open her 4-year-old campaign in 1996 with a pair of Grade 1 victories against females in California – the Santa Monica and Santa Maria – before finishing seventh against males in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap, at the 1 1/4-mile distance that seemed to be kryptonite throughout her career. She finished third in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom and second in the Louisville Breeders' Cup before, in typical iron-horse fashion, bouncing back with a string of three graded stakes victories in a span of six weeks, taking the Grade 3 Pimlico Distaff, Grade 3 Fleur de Lis, and Grade 1 Hempstead Handicap. The Hempstead was the 11th Grade 1 victory of her career and would turn out to be her last. Serena's Song would finish out the year as North America's all-time leading money-winning female – but she had to do it the hard way, finishing second or third in her seven remaining starts, all but one in Grade 1 company. After the Hempstead, she was second in the Vanity, second to males in the Whitney Handicap, and then third in the Philip H. Iselin. Back against fillies, she was second in both the Ruffian and Beldame to the younger Yanks Music, who would go on to secure a divisional Eclipse. In her third appearance at the Breeders' Cup, Serena’s Song was second in the Distaff to Jewel Princess, who had been a familiar foe that year. Serena's Song made one final start, finishing second in the Grade 2 Churchill Downs Distaff two weeks after the Breeders' Cup. The race pushed her career bankroll to a then-record $3,283,388. She retired with an overall record of 38-18-11-3.  In her second career as a broodmare, Serena's Song was spectacular. Boarded at Denali for the Lewises – Bob Lewis passed in 2006 and Beverly in 2017, with their son Jeff Lewis maintaining ownership of the mare – she produced 10 winners from 13 starters, with four graded stakes winners, two listed stakes winners, and one stakes-placed runner. Her second foal was the Storm Cat filly Sophisticat, winner of the Group 1 Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2002, and also Group 1-placed in France and Ireland. :: Subscribe to the DRF Post Time Email Newsletter: Get the news you need to play today's races!  Serena's Song also produced Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap winner Grand Reward, Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Handicap winner Harlington, Grade 3 John B. Connally Turf Cup winner Schramsberg, stakes winners Serena's Tune and Serene Melody, and stakes-placed Arbitrate. Her influence has continued through multiple generations, with several of her daughters and granddaughters producing stakes performers. Most notably, Serena's Tune is the dam of several stakes winners, including Serena's Cat, who in turn became a multiple stakes producer whose sons include Eclipse Award champion Honor Code. Serena's Song was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2002, upon her first year of eligibility. “She won a lot of money and a lot of races,” Lukas said at her induction, “and ultimately, she won our hearts.  She was special from day one. She had the elegance of a Grace Kelly, she had the moves of a Ginger Rogers, and she had the charisma of a Marilyn Monroe. “For you people that are a lot younger and don't have a clue of what the hell I'm talking about here, she had the moves of Janet Jackson and the charisma of Britney Spears.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.