November 15, 2025 
Old Friends Thoroughbred retirement home in Georgetown, Kentucky announced Thursday that 1997 Belmont Stakes (G1) winner, Touch Gold, was humanely euthanized at age 31 “due to the infirmities of old age.” A resident at Old Friends since 2015, Touch Gold was long a favorite among visitors to the popular home of pensioned Thoroughbreds.
“Saying farewell to Touch Gold is really hard for everyone at Old Friends. This tough old racehorse has been a special part of our life for many years. It was clear that he loved his life at Old Friends and enjoyed all the attention he received. Touch Gold was one of the best in a great era. We will miss him every day,” said John Nicholson, President and CEO of Old Friends.
Touch Gold was best known for denying Bob Baffert-trained Silver Charm the American Triple Crown by winning the 1997 Belmont Stakes under jockey Chris McCarron, 3/4 of a length ahead of the aspiring Triple Crown challenger. He also won the Haskell Stakes (G1) that year as well as the Lexington Stakes (G2) at Keeneland, KY. Touch Gold did not run in that year’s Kentucky Derby (G1), but did run and finished fourth in the Preakness Stakes (G1).
“Touch Gold was a terrific racehorse,” recalled Belmont Stakes partner and Hall Of Fame jockey Chris McCarron. “Along with his talent, he demonstrated tremendous courage and will to win. I was so excited and pleased when he joined the many wonderful thoroughbreds at Old Friends, which gave me the opportunity to visit him and thank him for all the thrills he provided me. I will miss him.”
The son of Canada’s Deputy Minister (by Canada’s Passing Mood out of Buckpasser) compiled a 15: 6-3-1 racing record and earned $1,679,907. He was inducted into the Canadian Hall of Fame in 2011.
In one of the ironies that often occur in racing, both Touch Gold and Silver Charm, the horse he denied the Triple Crown by winning the 1997 Belmont Stakes, were both pensioned to Old Friends in 2015 after stallion careers in New York, and Kentucky and Japan respectively.
Silver Charm, also 31 as of May, now becomes Old Friends oldest living resident.
