Stablemates Member Profile: Shanon Schug

Shanon Schug and his wife, Denise

Originally from Monroe, Indiana, near Fort Wayne, Shanon Schug has spent the past 20 years in Richmond, Kentucky, just south of the heart of horse country in Lexington.

Like many racing fans, the Run for the Roses drew him into the sport. From 1995 through 1997, while in college, Shanon attended the Kentucky Derby from the infield. And from there, he was hooked.

When Shanon and his wife, Denise, moved to the Lexington, Kentucky, area in 2002, being surrounded by horse country only added to his interest in the industry.

“I always wanted to get to a higher level, whether that was at the syndicate level or even just a higher level of understanding the inner workings of the sport,” Shanon said.

The Derby has remained a cornerstone in his horse racing journey. After Super Saver became WinStar Farm’s first Kentucky Derby winner, Shanon signed up for the WinStar Stablemates program. He has stayed aboard since then, along for the ride from the original Stablemates experience and into its transition into a syndicate.

“I remember talking to Elliott Walden at the Stablemates party and asking if Stablemates would eventually evolve into something bigger like a syndicate,” Shanon said. “He told me he had to look into it, and now here we are.”

Along the way, his favorite experience with Stablemates thus far was when he won the 2018 WinStar Derby contest. He took that opportunity to take his dad to his first ever Derby—”in WinStar style.”

He and his father certainly made the most of that experience, hitting the $1 superfecta that included WinStar’s Justify and Audible for a payout of nearly $20,000.

While the Derby has had perhaps the most influence on Shanon’s experience in racing, many aspects of the industry have added to Shanon’s passion for horse racing. From the races themselves to all of the statistics involved, to following horses through each season of their life and all the way through aftercare, the industry fascinates Shanon—and enjoying it with fellow Stablemates Racing members has only enhanced his involvement within it.

“There have been a lot of highs with Stablemates,” Shanon said. “It’s been beyond expectations.”

From the Paulick Report: Oaks Winner Shedaresthedevil Faces Dunbar Road, Paris Lights In Friday’s La Troienne

Paris Lights Photo: Chelsea Durand

From the Churchill Downs Media Office/Paulick Report

Qatar Racing, Flurry Racing Stables and Big Aut Farms’ Shedaresthedevil, upset winner of last September’s Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1), headlines a field of seven fillies and mares entered Monday for Friday’s 36th running of the $500,000 La Troienne presented by TwinSpires.com (G1).

Scheduled as the eighth race on Friday’s 13-race Kentucky Oaks program at Churchill Downs, post time for the 1 1/16-mile La Troienne is 3:03 p.m. (all times Eastern). First post Friday is 10:30 a.m.

Trained by Brad Cox, Shedaresthedevil came off a five-month layoff to start 2021 with a victory in the Azeri (G2) at Oaklawn Park on March 13, defeating next-out G1 Apple Blossom winner Letruska in a battle to the wire. Regular rider Florent Geroux will be aboard and exit post two.Two other Grade 1 winners will line up to challenge Shedaresthedevil: Peter Brant’s Dunbar Road and WinStar Stablemates Racing’s Paris Lights.

Trained by Chad Brown, Dunbar Road will be making her 2021 debut after closing out 2020 with a third-place finish behind champion Monomoy Girl in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) at Keeneland. Winner of the 2019 Alabama (G1), Dunbar Road will be ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr. from post three.

Paris Lights, 2-for-2 at Churchill Downs in her career for trainer Bill Mott, won the Coaching Club American Oaks (G1) last summer and opened 2021 with a victory in the Distaff Handicap (G3) at Aqueduct on April 2. Tyler Gaffalione has the mount from post five.

. . .

Read the full article here.