Morgan Sheppard is ‘Living the Dream’

by Chris Lomon

Sitting in the grandstand at Newfoundland’s half-mile oval, Morgan Sheppard knew it wouldn’t be her last visit.

Soon after finding a seat at the St. John’s Racing & Entertainment Center in Goulds, a family-friendly neighborhood and former independent community, Sheppard realized she had found something special.

She had accompanied her father, longtime horseman Colin Sheppard, for the day, and the experience left a lasting impression.

“My dad, who was in the sport since he was a kid through his father, had been out of the racing game for about 16 years,” Morgan said. “And then we started going back to the races. One day, he said, ‘Let’s go to the racetrack.’ We were about an hour and a half away from Goulds. So, we got in our little Honda Civic and headed to the track. It was kind of over from there. We would watch the races and after the races were over, he would take me over to the barns. That was around 2009. The track was booming around that time, with a lot of big names out east — the Forwards, the Flemings, the MacDonalds — and others racing there.

“Once I saw the horses and met the horsepeople, making those connections, it didn’t take long for me to fall in love with it all. By the following week, I was already asking my dad when we could return. He was beginning to miss the sport too and people started asking if he was going to get another horse.”

The answer came in the form of Canadian Mint, a son of Million Dollar Cam.

Originally a $6,500 purchase at the yearling sale in Truro, NS, Morgan and her father ponied up $1,000 to buy the pacer.

Canadian Mint proved to be tailor-made for racing at Goulds, where Colin would sit in the race bike while Morgan headed to the barn area.

“This horse was really hard to do anything with,” she said. “I never got much hands-on experience with him. My dad would race him and I would wander off to another barn where I would spend time with Gord Fleming. Between him and the Forwards, I would spend a lot of time in their barns. I was just 9 or 10, but I would help them out. I was probably more in the way than helpful, but it was always a good day.”

About 15 years ago, father and daughter began a tradition that continues today, making the annual trip to PEI for Old Home Week.

The celebrated summer harness racing festival is highlighted by the historic Gold Cup & Saucer race that takes place at Red Shores Racetrack & Casino at Charlottetown Driving Park.

“My dad and I started coming back for Old Home Week starting in 2011,” Morgan said. “We have come every year since. At first, it was just a me and my dad trip because my parents had a restaurant back home, so my mom would hold the fort down for the week or 10 days we were gone. It was probably four or five years of just me and my dad. And then my dad said to my mom, ‘Marie, you have to come to PEI because you’ll love it.’

“They decided to build a duplex in Brackley Beach, which is about 20 to 25 minutes from Charlottetown Driving Park. We started coming multiple times a year. Any time we could go, we did.”

Prince Edward Island would soon become home for Morgan.

“I went to Memorial University and started my business degree there,” she said. “I applied to UPEI for my second year and received my acceptance letter days later, in 2019. I packed up my little Honda Civic and moved to PEI.”

Her connection to the harness racing world continued to grow once she arrived.

A bay pacer who would race 202 times, winning on 29 occasions, would be her introduction to the PEI racing scene.

“We had an older horse at the time, Give Em Heck,” Morgan said. “He ended up having a broken coffin bone and was retired. He is with a good family friend in Tyne Valley, PEI, so he has plenty of acres to run on and is doing great. I feel very blessed.”

Another horse soon played an equally important role in her journey.

Doc Darryl, a son of Sunshine Beach, bred in Quebec by Hudson Standrdbrd Stb Inc, put Morgan in the driver’s seat – literally.

“In December of 2021, we bought Doc Darryl,” she said. “He was my first horse. He had been trained down and was off for a little break from racing for about two weeks. Kenny and Clifford Murphy trained him back up and he won his first three races for us.

“Kenny said to me one morning, ‘This is your time to shine, and you are going to go out and train him,’ she said. “I was extremely nervous. I had just started jogging, so I went out after he gave me a crash course on how to read a watch. He said to go in about 2:40. I ended up going around 2:45, so it was slow, but at that time I felt like I was absolutely flying. I was all shakes and jitters after, but he told me I did a good job and that I would keep doing it.”

She kept learning, and in 2022 earned her trainer’s license.

Her first win came with Shakemeup Hanover, a son of Bettors Delight, on Aug. 19, 2022, at Charlottetown Driving Park.

The victory prompted a myriad of emotions, ranging from trepidation to elation, all within the span of less than 10 minutes.

“It was my 10th lifetime start with a horse we bought from the late Earl Smith,” Morgan said. “He was a troublesome horse. We knew he had speed, but he couldn’t put it all together. He taught me a lot about patience.”

Especially on that summer evening in Charlottetown.

“That race happened on Old Home Week, so that was special for us because that’s why we started coming to PEI,” she said. “He got away third and dad put him on the front and let him roll along. Coming down the stretch, he opened up a two-length lead over the horse behind him. He went on the run, but it was only for a stride and then dad got him back on the pace. It took a long time to see if they were going to place him back to second. We were waiting and waiting, but they cleared it and declared him the winner. That was very exciting and we had a big group in the winner’s circle.”

There have been plenty more winning moments since then.

For the past three racing seasons, Sheppard has reached double digits in the win column, including a career-best 12 triumphs in 2025.

Achieving that success has been a team effort.

“My partner, Darcy, works full-time at his own job and then comes home to help in any way he can,” Morgan said. “Whether it’s mucking stalls, putting horses away, jogging, training, or whatever else needs to be done, he’s always there to lend a hand without a single complaint.

“My dad is the backbone of our operation – he trains alongside me, jogs horses, shoes all of our own horses, and is an endless source of knowledge. My mom retired after a lifelong career as a school secretary but somehow works even harder now helping in the barns every day. And our groom, Jenny, is always willing to lend a hand and cares for our horses as if they were her own. It truly takes an entire team to keep our operation going, and I’m incredibly grateful for every one of them.”

Morgan is also grateful to be able to share her standardbred world with others.

“Another big part of my journey has been building Living the Dream Stables,” she said. “Through sharing our day-to-day life at the farm and the stories of our horses, we’ve built an incredible community online. The journey of Benny in particular has connected with so many people, and it’s been amazing to see how much support he’s received while also introducing new people to the standardbred industry.”

As for the racing side, Morgan is raising the bar, objective-wise, this year.

“I have a small goal set for myself for this year, for the 2026 racing season,” she said. “Every year, I try to have something that is attainable. If you put the work in, hopefully it works. My goal is to win 15 races this year. Last year, I set a goal of 10 wins, and we ended up with 12, so that was good to hit the milestone. This year, we have more horses than we usually do, so that’s why I landed on 15 wins.”

As for long-term objectives, Morgan, who serves on the Prince Edward Island Standardbred Horse Owners Association (PEISHOA) board and writes for the Atlantic Post Calls newspaper, resists the urge to look too far ahead.

Instead, she prefers to focus on one race at a time.

“I don’t have a big long-term goal,” she said. “My biggest thing is that if the horses we have try their best — if they finish sixth, pick up a check or win — that is all that matters to me.”

Looking back, Morgan knows exactly where it all began.

“You look back at the times that brought me into it,” she said, “and you can’t help but smile.”