Rated R Superstar Retired to Old Friends

Rated R Superstar , a graded stakes-winning millionaire who became a fan favorite at an advanced racing age, was announced June 23 as retired at age 10 by his connections.

"Owning 'Rated R' has been one of the greatest gifts in our racing careers," tweeted Allison Caldwell, whose husband Danny Caldwell owned and raced Rated R Superstar late in the gelding's career. "He's a member of the family and we've always done things his way, in his best interest."

The son of Kodiak Kowboy  out of Gold Case mare Wicked Wish, who last raced May 6 at Oaklawn Park, will be retired to Old Friends, a Thoroughbred retirement facility in Georgetown, Ky., that serves as a Thoroughbred aftercare farm for a number of highly-successful ex-racehorses.

"'Rated R' is retiring sound, happy and healthy," Alison Caldwell added in a follow-up tweet. "We are very excited about this next chapter and we ask that if you're in the area of Old Friends, please schedule a time to visit or make a donation on his behalf. He's a very social guy and he loves seeing his friends!"

Rated R Superstar in @EllisParkRacing Paddock as a 2yr old pic.twitter.com/MGkuc3b92C

— Gary McIntyre (@Gary_McIntyre56) June 23, 2023

Rated R Superstar will fit in with his stakes-proven counterparts on the farm, having won 13 races in a 70-race campaign that began in July of 2015 at Ellis Park. The Thorndale Stable-bred runner ran for a number of different owners and trainers, precocious enough to win as a 2-year-old before running third that year in the 2015 Breeders' Futurity (G1) at Keeneland for owner Radar Racing and trainer Kenny McPeek. A month later, he ran 11th in that fall's Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) behind champion Nyquist  .

He would win the 2018 Ben Ali Stakes (G3) at Keeneland for Radar Racing and McPeek.

Years later after racing for other connections, Danny Caldwell would claim a 7-year-old Rated R Superstar for $50,000 in January 2021 with trainer Federico Villafranco.

In less than 2 1/2 years, he would earn $965,374 in 22 starts for Caldwell, winning five stakes races over the period, including the 2022 Essex Handicap (G3) at Oaklawn. His final victory came in the Jeffrey A. Hawk Memorial Stakes at Remington Park in December 2022.

He aimed to repeat in the Essex this year but finished seventh. A third in the Fifth Season Stakes in January at Oaklawn meant that he was stakes-placed in both his first year of competition (age 2) and last (age 10).

He was unplaced in his final four starts that followed the Fifth Season, capped by a fifth in an allowance optional claimer May 6 at Oaklawn Park for trainer Martin Villafranco.

Allison Caldwell made note of rule changes lessening the use of Lasix in many parts of the country this year in announcing Rated R Superstar's retirement. A diuretic, Lasix is used by horsemen to control respiratory bleeding in horses but stakes horses in many states are prohibited from racing with it. Critics of Lasix feel it is performance-enhancing due to its weight-loss effects and overused, with non-bleeding horses also being treated with it.

Rated R Superstar raced with Lasix in all of his races in 2023.

"We feel an absence of therapeutic medication is not in the best interest for optimal health & performance. We're not in the habit of changing the things that are working for rules that do not benefit the health of our horses as (individuals)," Caldwell tweeted.

Caldwell received well wishes in Twitter replies to her announcement of Rated R Superstar's retirement, including from Old Friends, who welcomed his addition to the farm and thanked Caldwell for "trusting us with your boy!"