Blinkers OFF!

We all know that racing at the upper levels have the benefit of bigger budgets, more attention, and the picks of the litter in terms of talented minds, better bloodstock, and energized spirits... While being run by the good ol' boys. So what or who, then do we do to save racing at the lower levels? Who cares about the class B tracks and below?  As DRF's writer, Jay Hovdey says... Should we pave Turf Paradise and put up a parking lot?

Myself and the rest of the fresh minded minority don't accept this and I won't sit idly by knowing that the aging population returns every winter to places like this because we enjoy it. We are all here because we WANT to be. I'd like a call to action, (or even just your attention please!) and encourage the people and stakeholders in the game of racing to take ownership in the sport and in our workplace. What we have is not bad. What we COULD have is potentially a great thing. Five days of racing in temperate weather in the city of Phoenix, Arizona? Sounds great. Bring your clients, bring your friends. But if you've never been- you'd never know it existed... And please, if you're going to the backside- hide your kids, hide your wife, because there's no welcome committee for anybody.

I can't tell you how many times I've had the same conversation with such a vast array of personalities. There are ideas out there, and many of them are good ones. But how can we implement any of them? My guess is as good as yours. I have a pipe dream that exists about this place that sparkles like an imaginary platinum and diamond ring, Derby winner, and wakeboard boat... (Just kidding)

In all seriousness, the focus on surviving needs to be reallocated to thriving. There is an inexplicable tone in horse racing right now. An overall feeling of helplessness and hopefulness all wrapped into one adjective yet to be defined. It took an app to bring the racing news to my attention every morning, and ya know what? It competes with facebook. As the industry strives to find its relevance in the realm of fantasy sports, other gaming apps, and hold its ground in the mind of the gambler, I feel it's possible to hold our ground as an entertainment industry with a future.

What are tracks (this means you, Turf) doing to pull in the prospective bettors or addressing the waning market base? What is the incentive for young trainers, and young owners to to make a mark here? So many questions that I'd welcome an answer. Why is the track that is closest to the only racing industry program of it's kind in the country NOT taking advantage of interns and the freshest, most enthusiastic minds entering the industry? (These people are PAYING to be a part of the industry!)

As a stakeholder, bettor, and member of potentially target market base, there are a few things I could suggest, and would love to be a part of the team that spots the iceberg and does something instead of just a passenger.  

Summer at the 'Spa

Summer in New York. It’s just the place to be as a horse girl chasing (or was it running away from something)... I’m not quite sure exactly what it was that I was going for, and I’m not sure if I was lost, but I found a lot.  Mostly because there were more than enough horses and horse culture to satiate any equine junky. In this post-college gap year journey 2,700 miles from home I’ve found beauty, tons of new emotions…loneliness …rode enough horses to leave holes in my legs, and found that there is a place where the sport of horse racing feels absolutely alive.  I am left with a feeling that I can’t quite put to a particular adjective.  I rode the jumpers, learned a LOT, then checked my pulse and found that my heart still beats horse racing. 

After getting on 7 horses by 10AM this morning, I sat down with a clear head and my second cup of coffee- recapping some events from the night before and my time on the East Coast, and began to count my blessings.  I started to jot my thoughts down, feverishly tapping on my phone, then raced out of barn 58 from Saratoga to grab my computer to do the story some justice. I’ve had tons of little anecdotes and insights that were potentially pretty significant- but as a whole I felt like an incomplete mosaic of tiles just scattered all over the floor.  There hadn’t been enough to put a big picture together yet.  OH the people I’ve met… If they only knew that I was picking their brains and hoarding their experiences- (with the best of intentions, of course!)

Some conclusions so far: that it’s the nature of my generation and the paradox of my age group to overshare, relentlessly search for purpose, and be perpetually uncomfortable.  I have definitely had a lot of fun, but feel absolutely low at times- struggling to find clarity from these experiences.  It’s the quarter life crisis/plague still hitting me hard- “I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up”!

I’ve bounced from one horse industry to another and it has caused a bit of that perpetual feeling of discomfort and a feeling of never actually ‘belonging’.  But the upside to that is my eyes are always open and fresh. Viewing things as an outsider makes every little nuance significant.  Racing has always been romantic in nature, (they don’t make as many bestselling books & movies about trail horses…) and growing up in the industry and experiencing it every day can make one almost numb, almost.

Walking around horse mecca (Saratoga) makes a track ‘insider’ feel like less of a carny and more like you are part of something.  I know this place is full of rich tradition and history but what pumps life into racing here is absolutely the town and its people. This is a place where the locals celebrate everything equine and going to the track is just a staple of the summer.  Being from humble-ish beginnings, but growing up in racing, I know the prince, and I know the pauper.  The prince knows the value and the prestige of racing, and he will support it because it’s both elite and profitable.  With so much for the pauper to spend his two bucks on that might pay him back, where is the sustainability going to be? Why should he care?

To me, the answer is because it’s thrilling, romantic, and open for everyone that wants either picnicking or pageantry.  They want to see the action. Everyone COMES to the track here, they take glamour shots, selfies everywhere, and pictures of horses in the morning. I know and love the game enough to want to share it with everyone. What a different experience when the people are present!  Building an OTB network does well to support the operations but it doesn’t give enough to sprinkle the fairy dust of horse-wonder onto future bettors and fans or young adults looking for their Saturday hang out spot. Even on a storming, inclement Sunday afternoon in a crowded paddock tent, the bartenders and barflies alike were dressed up and huddled motionless, in silence as Tom Durkin gave his last call.  It wasn’t just the weather that held everybody so near each TV.  I looked around and a server’s tears caused a few of my own.  There is greatness in horse racing and they know… the people that have experienced it know.  Each track has the potential to glorify the triumphs, the power, and the money that is embedded in the sport. There must be a push across the board, and in “smaller” tracks to follow suit and package racing in a way that preserves the sport and creates sustainability for both the bettor, the spectator, and the horseman.

 

 

 

Chasing the white rabbit named happiness.

Feeling scared, confused, heartbroken, excited, happy, and hopeful. Taylor swift and I could write the sequel to "22". Titled: "25".

Funny how a blustery cold day in paradise will bring out emotion in people and racehorses. Maybe it's the lonesome silence you experience when the wind takes over and becomes the audible buffer between your ears and the rest of the world, leaving you with only your thoughts. The racetrack (or any barn) is really, in general, a perfect place to succumb to mental wandering. If you've never cleaned a stall, hosed down a wash rack, or raked a shedrow you might not understand the quality time that one has to really devote to pure thought.

As summer approaches I think about my commitment to a different place, with a different plan and different type of riding. Racetrackers are carrying on with their seasonal migrations and talk amongst themselves about where everyone else is going. I keep fighting the nagging feeling that this winter I might have missed something, didn't do enough... didn't get the full experience or give enough of myself to the process.  I've put some time and some thought into what it means to be a racetracker and way too much into what it means to be a woman. As I finished my chores last night and snapped up the last stall chain I felt like I had a story that NEEDED out of me, like a horse in the starting gate. I drew ten or more conclusions and similarities between love and racehorses. How the pursuit of a passion drives us to sell ourselves short, go for broke, and get back up in the morning everyday to do it all over again. How we often choose to ignore blatant gut feelings, and how pride can drive sooooo many decisions. Sometimes it's really unclear if it's fun; if you're actually driven by the process and the love of the game , or the person, or the horse- or if it boils down to just the innate desire to be winning at something.

As  I hashed out my horse problems, and emotional dilemmas to a friend the other day, I commented that I might just be freakin crazy, like one tick above cat lady just might be horse lady. Her advice to me just might be the most interesting reminder that more women should hear, "um no the crazy just comes with the territory. ... You are still a WOMAN."  Well ok then. I'll take that as "I was born with a license to think too deeply, care more than I should, and wish for fairy tale endings". I like to believe my upbringing and life experiences have lead me to believe that I'm tougher than that. That since I know better than to be the moth to the flame- I should just be able to continuously move forward and abstain from people that drag rather than lift, and horses that will just never fit the bill. Right?  ...Well maybe... I can say that I've been burned in horses and in relationships before but these thoughts and dreams that "Disney will call after the smoke clears" still enter my head and spin me around.

Soon this Moxee, WA farm girl will be embarking on a solo journey into east-coast jumper land void of security, family, racehorses, and love. Every song that describes these times becomes even more meaningful and I'm sure that I have some great people behind me, rooting for me, as I would for any of them. As I always said after each trauma I've experienced, "at least I always have a story to tell"! (Or a country song to write!) As the current chapter continues to unfold I'm happy to say its by no means a sad story and little thoughts are foreshadowing good things to come.  It's still unclear to me if I'm wholly excited or READY to enter uncharted territory where no one knows my name, my family, or any part of my past performances. I feel like I'm stepping out from the backyard match races straight onto Santa Anita.

To my inner posse: just wanted you to know how much you mean to me even though my distractions are narcissistic as hell. My good friends are joining and adding to families, becoming tax paying, contributing members of society, and I'm over here like: "I bought a new horsey today and um, I got my feelings hurt the other day ..."