Racehorse owner Peter Fuller dies

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Peter Fuller, owner of the thoroughbred Dancer's Image that won the 1968 Kentucky Derby but was disqualified days later, has died of cancer in Portsmouth, N.H. He was 89.

Fuller died Monday at a skilled-care facility, according to daughter Miranda Bocko of Rye, N.H.

Fuller was a second-generation Boston auto dealer and son of a former Massachusetts governor who watched Dancer's Image rally from last to win by 1 1/2 lengths over Forward Pass. A few days later, traces of the drug phenylbutazone were found in Dancer's Image's post-race urinalysis. Dancer's Image was disqualified by the stewards and placed last. Forward Pass was declared the winner.

The medication, known as "bute," is now common and given to alleviate chronic pain and joint soreness, not to enhance performance. It was legal on race days in most jurisdictions in 1968, but not Kentucky.

Dancer's Image inherited tender ankles from his famous sire, Native Dancer. They were especially sore after the colt's victory in his final Derby prep, the Wood Memorial.

Alex Harthill, nicknamed the "Derby Doc" for treating past winners, said he gave Dancer's Image a single dose of the medication six days before, seemingly enough time for it to clear the colt's bloodstream. Trainer Lou Cavalaris agreed with the tactic. Fuller said he let them handle his horse's well-being.

Fuller said he later spent $250,000 and four years unsuccessfully fighting the disqualification all the way to the Kentucky Supreme Court. The scandal raised all sorts of theories, including Fuller's belief that his role in the civil rights movement might have sparked the disqualification. -- AP