Trot Insider has learned that illustrious racehorse and sire Muscles Yankee (t,3,1:52.2m) passed on Sunday (May 10) at the age of 25.

A legend on the racetrack, Muscles Yankee narrowly missed the 1998 Trotting Triple Crown, finishing third in the second heat of the Kentucky Futurity after taking his lifetime mark of 1:52.2 in the $1 million Hambletonian and winning the Yonkers Trot in pillar-to-post fashion.

The son of Valley Victory and Maiden Yankee ended his racing career for trainer Chuck Sylvester and owners Perretti Farms, Irving Liverman and David French on the best note possible, capturing the 1998 Breeders Crown in 1:53 over the one-turn mile at Colonial Downs. In all, Muscles Yankee won 15 of 21 races and amassed over $1.4 million in earnings.

Muscles Yankee passed his athletic prowess on to a number of his offspring — three of which won the Hambletonian as well: Deweycheatumnhowe (2008), Muscle Hill (2009), Muscle Massive (2010). His most accomplished son on the racetrack, however, was Mr Muscleman, who won two Breeders Crowns, two Maple Leaf Trots and the 2003 edition of the Canadian Trotting Classic on his way to over $4 million in career earnings. In all, 13 of Muscles Yankee's progeny reached millionaire status, while another 24 eclipsed $500,000 in earnings on the racetrack.