(FOX40.COM) — A beloved horse statue went missing in Sacramento, and it’s not the first time an animal-shaped landmark has been stolen in the region.
A statue of Ben Ali — California’s first-ever Kentucky Derby winner — was reported missing from its home on Del Paso Boulevard across from the Sacramento Youth Center on Wednesday, the Sacramento Police Department said.
A statue honoring Ben Ali, before it was reported missing from Del Paso Boulevard in Sacramento on Sept. 30, 2026
The horse that the life-size bronze statue commemorates is named after its owner: James Ben Ali Haggin. A 1946 article from a horse-breeding publication described Haggin as “far and away the most successful as well as the most colorful breeder and racing man of his day.”
Haggin created a thoroughbred breeding center on Rancho del Paso near Sacramento in 1873, hence the statue of his Triple Crown-winning horse on Del Paso Boulevard, according to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.
The statue stood for nearly two decades before it went missing Wednesday.
The location on Del Paso Boulevard that previously had a Ben Ali horse statue
It’s not the first bronze animal statue to go missing in Northern California this past year. A ram was reported stolen in Dixon on New Year’s Eve. In January, a business near the statue offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to the thief’s arrest.
The Sacramento Police Department is actively investigating the theft. Anyone with information on Ben Ali’s whereabouts is asked to contact the department.