Affirmed Success, who had a popular seven-year career, mostly on the New York circuit, that included eight graded stakes wins, was euthanized on Wednesday at Old Friends, the Kentucky retirement facility where he had resided since 2007, according to the farm. The gelding, who suffered from chronic hoof infections, was 28. Bred and owned by Albert Fried Jr. and trained by Richard Schosberg, Affirmed Success won 17 of 42 starts, with 10 seconds and six thirds, and earned over $2.28 million while racing from 1997 to 2003. All but eight of his career starts were at tracks in New York. Among his eight graded stakes victories were three Grade 1 wins, the 1998 Vosburgh Stakes, the 1999 Cigar Mile, and the 2002 Carter Handicap, all three in New York. He was one of the most consistently fast horses on the Beyer Speed Figure scale since the figures were first published in Daily Racing Form in 1992. Affirmed Success recorded triple-digit Beyers in 38 of his 42 starts, recorded figures of 110 or better 12 times, and topped out at 120 in the 1998 Forego. View lifetime PPs for Affirmed Success “He was such an incredible horse, and he had such a great personality,” said Schosberg, in a release put out by Old Friends. “Besides his obvious talent he had class, was brilliant, and was a joy to train. He always put in his best effort.” Richard Migliore, Affirmed Success’s regular rider later in his career and who was also a popular fixture in New York, praised the horse’s heart. “He was as hardworking and tenacious as any horse that I’ve ever been around, and I am happy to have been a small part of his history,” Migliore said. A gelding, Affirmed Success was initially retired to the Kentucky Horse Park outside of Lexington in 2003. When he began having soundness issues, he was transferred to Old Friends in 2007. Michael Blowen, the owner of Old Friends, said that he had admired Affirmed Success during the gelding's racing career because “he gave his best every time.” “But I didn’t really know him until he arrived at Old Friends, where his personality continued to blossom,” Blowen said. “Kind, intelligent, and self-sufficient. He gave us nearly 15 years of pure pleasure.”