Legends

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Shug’s Legacy: Excellence, Loyalty and Class

It was a couple of days before the running of the 2013 Kentucky Derby, and Shug McGaughey was trying to put into words what it would mean if he could finally capture the race that had eluded him for so long.

“This is for the Phippses and the Janneys and my people,” he said. “I come in third.”

Native Diver's Del Mar Domination

“Bring on Kelso.”

Chris McCarron: Fierce Competitor

Gregg McCarron will never forget the first time Chris, his younger brother, sat on a horse. Chris was anything but comfortable.

“He was petrified,” Gregg said. “We actually had to peel his fingers off the reins to get him down.”

The experience might have been enough to convince most teenagers that there were better ways to earn a living than by riding half-ton Thoroughbreds at 35 miles per hour. But Chris, who was 16 or so at the time, was not easily dissuaded.

A Lofty Place in History for Hamburg

He was described as “the phenomenon of the century” by The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. At one time, he was purchased for more money than had ever been spent on a racehorse. As a 2-year-old, he carried weight assignments that are unheard of today. He was such a legend that a historic farm was named after him.

His name was Hamburg, and when at his best, he was unstoppable.

Steve Cauthen: ‘The Kid’

Few athletes, human or equine, ever burst onto the national scene as quickly as Steve Cauthen.

In 1977, one year after he began riding, he paced all jockeys with 487 victories and emerged as the first to earn as much as $6 million in purses in a single season. In 1978, “The Kid” gained the distinction of being the youngest jockey to win the Triple Crown as his precocious talent helped Affirmed repel Alydar in one of the fiercest rivalries any sport has known.

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