Genuine Risk, Growing Old Gracefully

'80 Derby Winner Is Star Of Upperville Stable Tour

In 1980, Genuine Risk won the Kentucky Derby and went on to place second in the Preakness and Belmont Stakes, falling short of the Triple Crown but gaining legions of admirers.

Soon after, a knee injury forced the 3-year-old chestnut filly to retire. Today, she leads a relatively quiet existence at Newstead Farm, a 400-acre expanse of rolling fields in pastoral Upperville owned by Bert and Diana Firestone.

This weekend, thousands of spectators will descend on the farm to catch a glimpse of the horse, who turned 30 this year and is the oldest living Derby winner. She is the highlight of the Hunt Country Stable Tour, a self-guided drive through Loudoun County's horse country -- farms, barns and country estates -- that benefits the outreach programs of Trinity Episcopal Church in Upperville.

The tour's celebrity enjoys munching on peppermint candies and Tic Tacs from her handler, John "Buck" Moore.

"For her age, she looks super," said Richard Pappalardo, chief financial officer for Newstead Farm.

Genuine Risk was purchased as a yearling in 1978 by the Firestones, who operated Catoctin Stud Farm in Waterford before buying Newstead in 1991. The horse raced in 1979, 1980 and 1981 before getting loose one day at the Belmont track and crashing her knee into a fire hydrant.

"She was being treated but never got back to her superior condition," Pappalardo said.

The mare was bred in 1982 to Secretariat, the 1973 Triple Crown winner considered by some the greatest racehorse of all time.

"That was the first time in history a Derby winner was bred to a Derby winner," Pappalardo said. But the foal was stillborn. Other attempts to breed Genuine Risk with Secretariat failed.

The mare produced two foals with other horses -- Genuine Reward in 1993 and Count Our Blessing in 1996 -- but neither ever raced.

"It would have been nice to have a filly out of her, to build on what she did," said Moore, the mare's handler for 27 years.

Despite limited mobility in her front left knee because of the injury, Genuine Risk looks, and acts, like she did when she was younger, Moore said.

"Sometimes she and I will get in an argument. She wants to do one thing. I want to do another. I swear it's like talking to a person," Moore said. "She's got that woman thing. She'll keep nudging at you until you do it."

Genuine Risk was one of three fillies to win the Derby and was inducted in 1986 into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. She is one of the top 100 racehorses of the 20th century, according to Blood-Horse magazine.

Organizers expect 5,000 to 7,000 to attend the 48th annual Hunt Country Stable Tour, on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Other tour highlights include the Middleburg Training Track, where horses condition for races, and the Northern Virginia Animal Swim Center and Stables, where injured dogs and horses swim in a 12-foot-deep rehabilitation pool.

For tickets or information, call 540-592-3711 or visit http://www.middleburgonline.com/stabletour.