When trainer Doug O'Neill's charges head to the racetrack during training hours at Hollywood Park, a familiar dark bay gelding often accompanies them. Lava Man, who won three Hollywood Gold Cups during a long racing career in which he earned $5,268,706, has settled into his new job as a stable pony.

"Sabas Rivera, one of my foremen, spent probably two or three hours a day with him," said O’Neill. "He's got Lava Man chaperoning horses to the track. The horse is very mellow, especially around the barn."

Rivera taught Lava Man to carry a Western saddle instead of a regular exercise saddle. O'Neill said that they also now use a hackamore instead of a bit and bridle.

"A horse like him, in Sabas' mind, you put a bit in his mouth, he feels the pressure in the back of his mouth and he wants to go," said O'Neill. "This way it's all pressure under his mouth