Grade 1-winning gelding Evening Attire dies at 21

Evening Attire, the popular Grade 1-winning multimillionaire, has died at Akindale Thoroughbred Rescue in Pawling, N.Y., where he spent his retirement. The Black Tie Affair gelding was 21.

Evening Attire was bred and raced by Thomas Kelly with longtime clients Joseph and Mary Grant. The gelding was initially trained by Thomas's son Tim Kelly before being taken over by another son, Pat Kelly, upon Tim's retirement. Over nine seasons of racing, primarily on the New York circut, Evening Attire put together a record of 69-15-16-9 and earnings of $2,977,130.

Evening Attire's biggest victory came in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup in September 2002, as he defeated Lido Palace by 2 3/4 lengths, with Harlan's Holiday third. He also won the Grade 3 Discovery Handicap and Grade 3 Queens County Handicap in 2001; the Grade 2 Saratoga Breeders' Cup Handicap, Grade 3 Aqueduct Handicap, and Grade 3 Red Smith Handicap in 2002; another edition of the Saratoga Breeders' Cup in 2004; the Grade 3 Stuyvesant Handicap in 2005; another edition of the Queens County and the Stymie Handicap in 2007; and the Greenwood Cup Stakes in 2008, in what turned out to be his career finale. His 17 stakes placings included third-place finishes in a pair of Grade 1 events in 2003 - the Whitney Handicap behind Medaglia d'Oro and the prior year's Breeders' Cup Classic winner Volponi, and that fall's Jockey Club Gold Cup behind eventual Horse of the Year Mineshaft and Quest.

Evening Attire was retired in September 2008 due to a suspensory injury, and the following month was honored with a retirement ceremony at Belmont Park before heading to Akindale to serve as its ambassador. Akindale said that Evening Attire would be buried at his longtime home, and that the farm's annual birthday celebration for the gelding next month would become a memorial celebration, with details forthcoming.

"Evening has been an amazing presence here at Akindale since the day he arrived, winning the hearts of every person, volunteer, and friend that has had the pleasure to meet him," Akindale posted in announcing the gelding's death on its social media accounts on Monday. "Even those that never met him admired his style, confidence, and heart. Evening had a dignified presence, a kind eye, and he loved his visitors. We cannot express our thanks enough to everyone who has come to visit Evening over the years, he truly loved the visits - and the treats - and always knew how to work the crowd to keep them coming back for more, just as he did on the track."