The history of horse racing is filled with rags-to-riches stories of jockeys, trainers, and horses that rise from humble beginnings to achieve success at the highest levels of the sport.
Few such stories can compare with that of the remarkable gelding Lava Man, who went from claimer to Hall of Famer to dominate California horse racing for much of three unforgettable years.
“Lava Man had a blend of talent and versatility that comes along very rarely; some might argue there has never been a horse with a greater combination of both than Lava Man. In the United States, horse racing is conducted on dirt, grass, and synthetic tracks, and Lava Man is the only horse in history to win Grade 1 races on all three surfaces. He was so naturally fast that he frequently set the pace in his races, but if another horse wanted the early lead, Lava Man was perfectly content to take back and rally in the stretch.”
