by Jeff Lowe

Gibson County, one of Florida’s most popular young sires, died on Wednesday morning from an apparent aneurysm at Ocala Stud Farm.

Co-owner Luke McKathan said the 11-year-old In Excess (Ire) horse out of Miss Gibson County, by Winrightt, died shortly after dismounting a mare.

“He started to walk off and just dropped dead,” McKathan said. “It took all the wind out of my sails, I’ll tell you that. I just worked a bunch of his babies [Wednesday] morning, and every one of them can just flat fly. The only thing is that I just don’t have enough of them. Every one of his babies, you just know they’re going to run. It’s just amazing that something like that could happen.”

McKathan owned Gibson County with his sons, J. B. and Kevin, and Mike Pegram. A three-time stakes winner, Gibson County began his stud career at Luke McKathan’s McKathan Farm in Reddick, Florida, covering 20 mares in his first season in 2003.

Stakes winners Genuine Talent and American County emerged from Gibson County’s first two crops, and his book grew to 106 mares in 2007.

“It looked like he was going to get even more this year,” Luke McKathan said. “We’ll be looking for a long time to find another one like him, I’m afraid.”

Gibson County has sired 19 winners from 25 starters that have earned $667,644 through Tuesday. His two-year-old crop consists of 11 horses.

Pegram bred Gibson County in California and raced him there with trainer Bob Baffert. The bay horse won the 1999 Don B. Stakes at Bay Meadows Race Course and California Breeders’ Champion Stakes at Santa Anita Park as a two-year-old. Gibson County won the 2001 Answer Do Stakes at Hollywood Park as a four-year-old.

Gibson County hit the board in eight other stakes. He won five of 25 career starts and earned $376,465.

Jeff Lowe is a Thoroughbred Times staff writer