The 152nd Kentucky Derby will be charged with emotion for many fans, but none more so than 94-year-old Leverett Miller, breeder of Santa Anita Derby winner So Happy.
Tag: The Life
Vella-Gregory Paying It Forward as Mentor to Horse Racing’s Next Generation
When it comes to the future, Jodie Vella-Gregory understands the assignment. “If we’re not focusing on the next generation, then we’re not focusing on the industry,” said Vella-Gregory, vice president of industry relations of 1/ST RACING & GAMING. “We constantly are talking about how we need people to be involved in racing in the industry and what better way than to organically do that from the beginning?”
Advocacy in Action: Egan Focused on Supporting the People Behind the Sport
Some are born into the sport, spending their formative years around equine athletes, wrapping legs, mucking stalls, and continuing family legacies that might stretch back generations. Others find their way to the racetrack through a more circuitous route. Jordyn Egan is the latter. “I was a horse nut from the age of 5, just out of nowhere. Hunter-jumper, nothing fancy at all,” she said with a laugh. “When my family couldn’t afford riding lessons, I would work in the therapeutic riding program. I always stayed connected to horses.”
Women in Racing: ‘Traditionalist’ Shannon Arvin Leading Keeneland to Record Heights
Keeneland President and Chief Executive Officer Shannon Arvin was working with Chief Financial Officer Hunter Stout last autumn when he mentioned in passing that he would have to miss his son’s first T-Ball game. When Arvin initially urged him to go, Stout declined since it was a typically busy Saturday with six races remaining. She insisted he rush off to see Jack do his darndest to put bat to ball.
