Kentucky Derby winner Country House has been retired due to a hoof injury and subsequent infection, his ownership group announced on Friday.
The colt won the biggest race in the United States in 2019 as a 65/1 long shot when Maximum Security was controversially disqualified for interference after being first past the post.
Country House's owners said the horse had first been admitted to an equine hospital in June suffering from laminitis and had experienced complications from which he was still recovering.
"We anticipate that he will make a full recovery, but because of the laminitis and the subsequent steps taken to save his life, he will never race again," Blackwood Stables said in a statement.
(Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
