Grade 1 Winner, Sire Preservationist Dies In Korea At Age 12
Preservationist, a Grade 1 winner and graded stakes sire, died in Korea on July 19, according to Korea Racing Authority records. He was 12.
A cause of death is not typically listed in KRA obituary records.
The son of Arch was bred in Kentucky by Emory Hamilton out of the winning Dixieland Band mare Flying Dixie, and he sold to owner Centennial Farms for $485,000 at the 2024 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
Preservationist was trained by Jimmy Jerkens, who patiently developed the horse to make his first start at age three and enter the gates in graded stakes company for the first time at age six.
That debut graded effort was a winning one, posting a dominant victory in the G2 Suburban Stakes at Belmont Park. Two starts later, he earned his biggest victory when he won a hard-fought stretch battle in the G1 Woodward Stakes at Saratoga Race Course.
Preservationist retired with six wins in 11 starts for earnings of $1,084,550.
He was retired to Airdrie Stud in Midway, Ky., ahead of the 2020 breeding season, and he resided there until arriving in Korea in January 2025.
From three crops of racing age, Preservationist has sired 51 winners and amassed combined progeny earnings of more than $4.7 million.
He struggled to gain a foothold with breeders, covering more than 45 mares just once in his four U.S. seasons. His final domestic season saw him visited by just 11 mares.
However, Preservationist has had solid success on the racetrack. He is the sire of Grade 3 winner Antiquarian, who recently finished second by a head in the G2 Suburban Stakes at Saratoga. He sent Chunk of Gold to run in this year's Kentucky Derby, following runner-up efforts in the G2 Louisiana Derby and the G2 Risen Star Stakes, while his full-sister Band of Gold won last year's listed Martha Washington Stakes at Oaklawn Park.
