Patch calls it a career, will retire to Old Friends Farm

Patch, the fan favorite horse who made national headlines in the run up to the 2017 Kentucky Derby, has put his racing days behind him.

Park Equine Hospital announced Thursday evening that the sport’s favorite one-eyed horse is spending time there before retiring to Old Friends Farm in Georgetown, Ky. He figures to be a main attraction for visitors on a roster of former runners that also includes Derby winners Silver Charm (1997) and War Emblem (2002).

The Calumet Farm homebred Patch won two of his 14 races, with his maiden breaker in February of 2017 for trainer Todd Pletcher preceding a runner-up in the Louisiana Derby (G2). Patch didn’t fare well the first Saturday in May, finishing 14th, but the son of Union Rags lived up to his lineage when returning in the longer Belmont Stakes to register a Grade 1 placing in third.

At 4, Patch won his comeback allowance race in May of 2018 and earned another stakes placing. He switched to the Jack Sisterson barn in 2019, running twice last summer, including a race on the turf.

“He’s got a huge fan following,” Sisterson said at the time, “and I think rightly so, because he’s such a cool horse. He deserves all the support he can get with the circumstances of having just one eye."