Finallymadeit euthanized after training injury

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Finallymadeit, a multiple graded-stakes winner and $1 million earner, fractured his left front cannon bone during a workout Tuesday morning over the main track and had to be euthanized, trainer Tim Ritvo said Wednesday. Finallymadeit had been expected to run in Saturday's Grade 1 Whitney Handicap at Saratoga.

"We were really excited about running him," said Ritvo, who took over the 5-year-old horse's training last month. "My heart goes out to the owners. Another example of the highs and lows of the game; on Monday I won two races including a stakes and I'm pointing for a Grade 1, then Tuesday I'm putting him down."

Finallymadeit, a son of Concerto owned and bred by Rolando Rodriguez and Robea Stables, won 16 races - including 12 stakes - from 47 starts and earned $1,026,640. His graded wins included this year's Grade 3 Skip Away at Gulfstream in April and the Grade 3 Memorial Day Handicap at Calder in May. He also won the Grade 3 Fred Hooper at Calder last December. In his last start, Finallymadeit finished third in the James Marvin Stakes here on opening day, a race his connections were using as a prep for the Whitney.

According to Ritvo, Finallymadeit was cremated at the equine hospital at Cornell University, and his ashes will be sent to his owner's Eclipse Training Center in Ocala, Fla.

"He was an iron horse," Rodriguez said. "He was part of the family. We called him the running heart."