what makes a derby winner fall so Far? Uninterested? Wish they would retire him.
Fell so far how? He finished 2nd in a G2 stakes in March and ran in a G2 stakes today, albeit finishing 5th. It’s not like he’s trailing the field in $5,000 claimers 
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It has become the practice to retire a Derby winner right after the Breeders’ Cup races.
Why retire a 3yo if he’s got more races in him?
He hasn’t fallen anywhere, he’s still racing.
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I’m trying to remember his races before the Ky Derby. Did he always get to wing it out alone on the lead under no pressure? The races I’ve seen him in, which admittedly haven’t been all of them, seem to follow the pattern of everything his own way and no pressure early = win, challenge from another horse and pressure during the race = loss. I especially remember the Preakness, where Classic Empire looked him in the eye all around, and then Always Dreaming went into retreat. Classic Empire lost but didn’t drop out. Does that pattern hold true for AD, or has he been in dog fights and won them?
Keep in mind also that a lot of these horses race only against other 2 and 3 year olds up until and possibly for the rest of the year after the Derby. For those that actually continue racing at 4, they are often facing older horses for the first time. Also some just peak at the right time and never come back to the same form. However, I would not be worried in any way about a horse that is still racing in graded stakes.
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Always Dreaming hit his best stride for the spring races in his 3 YO season, and the rest of them eventually caught up. A lot of these colts are not at their best until a bit later in their 3 YO year.
