Legends

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Champion racehorse and top sire A.P. Indy at Lane's End Farm in 2006.

1992 Horse of the Year A.P. Indy: Destined for Greatness

A.P. Indy was seemingly born to greatness. He was sired by Seattle Slew, a Triple Crown winner. His successful dam (mother), Weekend Surprise, was no surprise because she was sired by Secretariat, another Triple Crown champion.

Ambitious owners will pay massive sums for such regal bloodlines, so it was no shock that Japanese owner Tomonori Tsurumaki went to $2.9 million before the auctioneer’s hammer fell at Keeneland’s July yearling sale in 1990.

Secretariat and Ron Turcotte after winning the 1973 Preakness stakes.

Secretariat, the Preakness, and a 39-Year Controversy

Maximum Security’s disqualification in the 2019 Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve inspired much controversy, and the debate at times felt like the 1950 Kurosawa film “Rashomon,” where multiple witnesses to an event retell it in vastly different ways. All of us saw the same race, yet so many people have different interpretations of what they saw.

Sunday Silence Kentucky Derby Preakness Stakes Pat Valenzuela rivalry Easy Goer Breeders’ Cup Classic horse racing 1989 Arthur Hancock Shug McGaughey Japan breeding stallion sire

Sunday Silence: The Star No One Wanted

Sunday Silence spent a lifetime in search of respect, on the track and in the breeding shed. In the end, he earned it.

“He was very good,” said Shug McGaughey, a Hall of Fame trainer who handled arch-rival Easy Goer. “I ran against him four times and he beat us three times. And I ran a pretty good horse at him.”

Triple Crown Turning Point: A Claimer, a Crafty Admiral, and a Colt Named Affirmed

With a superstar young jockey, dueling rivals, and electrifying finishes, the 1978 Triple Crown stands out amongst the other 12 on the strength of the sheer thrills and chills that Affirmed and Alydar brought each time they met on the racetrack.

Bud Delp: A Hall of Famer Remembered as a ‘Super Horse Trainer’

His best horse may have been gray, but for the most part there was no gray area when it came to people’s feelings about trainer Grover Greer “Bud” Delp.

The Maryland native was outspoken, irreverent, and controversial. He had a personality that divided people into two separate camps: those who loved him and those who had no use for him.

The common ground, though, was respect for his ability as a trainer.

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