all in Legends

Entering the 2015 Breeders’ Cup World Championships, the first ever at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, there were no shortage of compelling storylines, including the first Triple Crown winner since 1978, American Pharoah, attempting to close out his career with a win in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

The family comes in various shades of gray, colts and fillies, each successive generation building on the tenacity and talent of the previous one.

A common phrase in horse racing is “horses aren’t machines,” and the truth behind this phrase is rarely more apparent than when a talented horse isn’t quite running to expectations. Such was the case with a talented colt named Lure, who began his career in 1991 by breaking a track record for five furlongs at Belmont Park only to lose four of his next six races.

Sixteen years ago, horse racing was at one of its periodic upticks in national exposure as fans were drawn to the exploits of an unbeaten star racemare based in Southern California, and by the time the 27th Breeders’ Cup World Championships arrived at Churchill Downs, excitement was at a fever pitch.

What defines a champion?

Is it talent; the raw ability that gives an athlete the ability to excel in their sport? Is it accomplishments; the record of achievements that their talent enables them to compile? Or is it something else entirely; an innate desire to perform as well as possible and give your all every time you compete?

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