Varenne, a 31-year-old horse that was widely considered as the best trotter of all-time, winner of 62 races during his career, has died, according to reports from Italy. Eurosport reports that the stallion suffered a heart attack in the night between Monday and Tuesday. The average lifespan of a Standardbred, the breed of horse used for races, ranges between 25 to 35 years, slightly above the average for horses.
Varenne, foaled in Copparo, Italy, on May 19, 1995, started his career at three years old and retired in 2002. During his career, he won 62 of the 73 races he started, finished second six times and finished second twice, earning €6,035,665, making him the richest trotter ever, and the only one to win the most important titles of the international circuit in the same years (Prix d'Amérique in 2001 and 2002 in Paris, the Elitlopp in 2001 and 2002 in Sweden, and the Lotteria di Naples in 2000, 2001, and 2002).
Racing with the Italian driver Giampaolo Minnucci, Varenne also was the first European horse to win the Breeders Crown Trot in the US in 2001, with a speed record, and was named horse of the year multiple times. When he retired in 2003, he became one of the most coveted stallions for breeding, with prices rising up to €15,000: he had almost 2,500 offspring, although there have been some legal battle regarding the "clandestine" sale of his breeding rights.
