Legends

all in Legends

Ramon Dominguez: World-Class Jockey and World-Class Person

Five months after a spill on Jan. 18, 2013, Ramon Dominguez sat in a doctor’s office and received news no jockey ever wants to hear. His career was over.

The doctor explained the severity of a traumatic brain injury Dominguez had suffered. He outlined the risks that would be associated with another such injury, risks so great that they made it unthinkable for the jockey to enter the starting gate ever again.

Davona Dale: A Dominant Calumet Star

The great work by trainer John Veitch in revitalizing the fortunes of Calumet Farm is most commonly associated with the legendary Triple Crown runner Alydar.

Yet for all the fame generated by Alydar’s trio of runner-up finishes to Affirmed in the 1978 Triple Crown, Veitch enjoyed more success with three homebred Calumet fillies that he turned into champions.

Foremost among that group was a filly who gave Veitch a sweep of a series for 3-year-olds – times two.

Hard Work, Dedication Have Lifted Trainer Linda Rice to Top

Linda Rice was 17 years old, a time when the real world begins to come into view for most teenagers. She and her father, Clyde, had attended a Keeneland sale in Lexington, Ky., and were driving back to their farm in Pennsylvania when an accident ahead of them caused a delay.

Clyde seized the opportunity for some serious conversation.

“What do you want to do with the rest of your life?” he asked.

“I want to be like you, dad,” she responded. “I want to be a horse trainer.”

Round Table, pictured winning the 1958 Arlington Handicap with Bill Shoemaker aboard, was a champion on both dirt and turf.

Round Table: Champion on the Turf

When Wise Dan swept three categories - Horse of the Year, older male, and turf male - at the Eclipse Awards in 2012 and 2013, it brought back sunny memories of Round Table, who collected Horse of the Year honors, a champion male turf horse award, and male handicap honors in 1958.

Silverbulletday: A Magical Ride

As stellar as Silverbulletday was in gaining honors as the champion 2-year-old filly in 1998 and as the champion 3-year-old filly the next season, there will always be a “what if” attached to her career.

What if she had not drawn far outside, post 14, for the Preakness? What if she had received a more favorable post and been allowed to compete in the middle jewel of the Triple Crown?

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