A stall stands empty, but a lot of memories remain as Rachel Alexandra left Saratoga for the last time on Tuesday afternoon.

The 2009 Horse of the Year, whose retirement was announced last week, left trainer Steve Asmussen's barn at the Oklahoma Training Track at about 1:30 p.m., boarding a van bound for Churchill Downs in Louisville, where she'll arrive in the wee hours of tomorrow morning. Assistant trainer Scott Blasi, who has been by the filly's side nearly every day since she joined the Asmussen barn in May 2009, followed the van in his pickup.

The 4-year-old filly will be let down at Asmussen's barn at Churchill Downs for a few weeks before taking a short van ride to majority owner Jess Jackson's Stonestreet Farm in Lexington, which figures to be her permanent home as a broodmare.

Rachel Alexandra will be bred next spring to Curlin, Jackson's 2007-08 Horse of the Year, who stands stud at Lane's End Farm in Versailles, just outside of Lexington.