Materiality euthanized due to laminitis

Materiality, the winner of the Grade 1 Florida Derby in 2015, was euthanized in July due to complications from laminitis, according to Steve Young, racing manager for Alto Racing, which owned the colt.

Materiality, trained by Todd Pletcher, had been retired in July 2015 after coming out of a workout at Saratoga with a physical issue. He was vanned to Lexington, Ky., and ultimately spent several months at the Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital, where he was being treated for laminitis.

Earlier this year, Materiality was moved to Scott Morrison’s farm – Morrison is an equine podiatrist at Rood and Riddle – where the horse continued to fight the deadly disease before succumbing on July 26.

“He developed laminitis after getting to Kentucky,” Young said Saturday at Belmont Park. “He was treated at Rood and Riddle and later by Dr. Scott Morrison. He had nothing but good days, but in the end, he didn’t make it. He had lots of terrific people at the clinic that tried to save his life.”

Materiality, a son of Afleet Alex and a half-brother to the graded stakes winner My Miss Sophia, won his first two starts by a combined 10 lengths. He then won the Florida Derby by 1 1/2 lengths over Upstart. He finished sixth behind American Pharoah in the Kentucky Derby and then ran last in the Belmont Stakes.

“He’s as good a horse as I was ever around,” said Young, who picked the horse out of the 2014 Timonium sale of 2-year-olds in training for $400,000.