Hall of Fame trainer Jonathan Sheppard dies at 82
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Word has reached the race course here of the death of Hall of Fame trainer Jonathan Sheppard. He passed away at his retirement home in Hollywood, Fla. on Sunday reportedly from the complications of Lyme disease. He was 82.
Sheppard will best be remembered by Saratoga racing fans as the trainer who won at least one race at the track per year for 47 years through 2015.
In 2021, the Grade I steeplechase known as the N.Y. Turf Writers Handicap saw a name change to the Jonathan Sheppard to honor the record holder.
His horses also set records and, through their racing efforts, earned him election into horse racing’s Hall of Fame in 1990. He also served as president of the National Steeplechase Association from 2004 to 2006 and was honored by that body with the F. Ambrose Clark Award in 2013 for contributions to the sport.
Sheppard excelled at training both flat racing Thoroughbreds and steeplechasers at his Ashwell Farm in Chester County, Pa. He also enjoyed success as a breeder of Thoroughbreds.
His trainees earned 11 individual Eclipse awards on the flat and over fences and Sheppard horses compiled 3,426 wins from 20,997 starts while earning over $88 million in racing purses. Flatterer, a horse Sheppard bred in partnership with long-time partner William Pape, was the leading ‘chaser from 1983 to 1986.
His longtime association with George Strawbridge, Jr.’s Augustin Stable produced a plethora of winners including Forever Together, the 2008 turf female champion, and Informed Decision, the 2009 female sprint champion.
The name Storm Cat will always bring up the names Jonathan Sheppard and William T. Young in any discussion of Thoroughbred breeding. Young owned the 2-year-old colt and sent him to Sheppard to train. After the colt won the Grade I Young...