Jonathan Sheppard and Winston C at Saratoga in 2019. Tod Marks Photo.

The Hall of Fame conditioner shipped six jumpers to Ireland for a winter campaign, aiming Eclipse-award champion Winston C to the biggest prize — the Cheltenham Festival. Nearing age 80, Jonathan Sheppard has amassed just about every accolade possible in thoroughbred racing. In a career that began in the U.S. nearly 60 years ago, the

Gerard Galligan riding Jonathan Sheppard's Bet the Pot to victory in the maiden hurdle. ©Grace Beahm Alford/Staff for The Post and Courier

The NSA concluded its Covid-abbreviated season on Sunday with a thrilling exclamation point at the Steeplechase of Charleston in Hollywood, S.C. Coming into the meet, Gerard Galligan and Michael Mitchell were noses apart in the battle for leading jockey, and after the final race was run, Galligan emerged with his first ever title after enjoying

The Alston Cup, awarded to the winner of the three-year-old hurdle, and the Charleston skyline. ©Steeplechase of Charleston

Sunday’s Steeplechase of Charleston in Hollywood, S.C., will bring an end to a topsy-turvy NSA season that resulted in the cancellation of more than two-thirds of the scheduled race meets. As with so many aspects of life and leisure in 2020, Covid-19 wreaked havoc on the sport. Aside from a full summer program at Saratoga

The Steeplechase at Callaway Gardens, 2019.

While the marquee races of this Covid-abbreviated National Steeplechase Association calendar were run long ago, Saturday’s Steeplechase at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Ga., cemented the title of leading trainer and set up a showdown for top rider at the season’s final meet in Charleston, S.C., on Nov. 15. With two victories on the seven-race

The Steeplechase at Callaway Gardens, 2019.

Racing moves from Northern Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic regions into the deep South on Saturday, as the jumpers head to Pine Mountain, Ga., for the Steeplechase at Callaway Gardens. Seven races, worth a total of $100,000, are on tap, including a maiden timber event; allowance race over timber for apprentice riders; an allowance hurdle for