A life-size bronze statue commemorating Ben Ali, California's first Kentucky Derby winner, has been stolen from its location on a road median in north Sacramento. The theft was reported to the Sacramento Police Department on Wednesday.
The statue, which depicts the thoroughbred stallion who triumphed at Churchill Downs in 1886, was erected in 2008. It was situated on a concrete base between traffic lanes outside the Sacramento Youth Center, located in the 1900 block of Del Paso Boulevard. Authorities discovered only a single bronze hoof remaining at the scene.
Ben Ali, the horse immortalized in the statue, once trained at Rancho Del Paso in northern Sacramento County, underscoring his local historical significance. The Del Paso Boulevard Business Association announced the theft via an Instagram post last week, stating, "Ben Ali Stolen!!!! He must be returned!!!"
Sacramento police are actively seeking information regarding the perpetrators and the whereabouts of the stolen bronze sculpture. The investigation is ongoing.
