all in Legends

Once upon a time, a long time ago, a horse named Arrogate entered the spotlight with a series of victories in prominent stakes races.

Wait a minute – “a long time ago?” Wasn’t Arrogate at the peak of his powers 9-10 years ago, winning such prestigious events as the 2016 Breeders’ Cup Classic and the 2017 Pegasus World Cup?

In today’s world of Thoroughbred horse racing, the path to winning an Eclipse award as champion 2-year-old is relatively clear. First, you win a maiden race for horses who have never won a race before. Then, you try to win at least one graded stakes race (preferably a Grade 1) and hopefully more; finally, you win either the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile or Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies to become the clear-cut champion of your division.

There are few certainties in life or in the sport of horse racing. But just as you could count on the changing of the seasons, you could count on Jonathan Sheppard sending out winners by the dozen, year after year, in tests of both pure speed and dexterity over jumps. He retired from training in the U.S. before the 2021 season, maintained a small stable in Ireland for a short while, and passed away at 82 on Aug. 27, 2023.

The history of horse racing is filled with rags-to-riches stories of jockeys, trainers, and horses that rise from humble beginnings to achieve success at the highest levels of the sport.

Few such stories can compare with that of the remarkable gelding Lava Man, who went from claimer to Hall of Famer to dominate California horse racing for much of three unforgettable years.

Renowned photographer Barbara Livingston suspects Thoroughbreds view her as an “odd clicking person.”

Humans would more likely describe her as a wonderful clicking person.

Make no mistake, clicking sounds emanate from her almost constantly as she strives to record the magnificence of one horse after another, all the while brightening the dawn at racetracks across the country with her smile.

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