Sea Hero, oldest living Kentucky Derby winner, dies at 29

Winner of the 1993 Kentucky Derby, Sea Hero, has died, the Jockey Club of Turkey announced earlier this week on Twitter. 

Sea Hero was 29 years old and the oldest living Kentucky Derby winner.

"We are deeply saddened by the news of our pensioned stallion, oldest living @KentuckyDerby and @TheNYRA's G1 Travers & G1 Champagne Stakes winner Sea Hero's passing at the age of 29," the tweet read.

Sea Hero was the ninth choice to win the 119th Kentucky Derby, wagering at 12.90-1. It was his first time racing without blinkers since his maiden win, according to KentuckyDerby.com. 

It was "thanks to a shiny bay colt named Sea Hero and a savvy jockey in Jerry Bailey" that veteran trainer MacKenzie Miller won the race, a Courier Journal article stated the day after the win.

"Sea Hero darted through the waves of horses, powering up the rail to finish so strongly in the final eighth of a mile that tepid favorite Prairie Bayou had no hope of catching up," the article read.

It was Bailey's first of two Kentucky Derby wins. After crossing the wire, Bailey "rapturously thrust his right arm into the air, then reached down to enthusiastically pat Sea Hero's neck," a Courier Journal reporter wrote at the time.

Sea Hero retired at the end of the 1994 racing season and entered stud at Lane's End in Versailles, where he stayed until 1999. He was then purchased by the Turkish Jockey Club, where he remained until his death. 

"Though not one of the very best to wear the roses, he'll be among the most emotionally satisfying of winners for as long as the race is run," KentuckyDerby.com wrote in 2018.