Career Opportunities
Horse Racing
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A Visit to Santa Anita Racetrack
A Special “Thank You”
to Darrell Vienna of Silver Fox Farms
• Groom– Is responsible for 2 – 4 horses– In the morning (4:00 am):
• removes leg wraps• takes horse’s temperature• checks for any problems
– tacks up the horse for morning workout– gets the horse back after it is walked– mucks out stall twice a day– feeds horse three times a day according to
directions
• Hot Walker– Walks each horse after a workout until cool– About 45 minutes per horse– Match horse’s personality to walker’s– Provides fresh water in a clean bucket for each
horse
The best way to walk a horse to cool it
The lazy way to walk horses
• Exercise Rider– checks the workout schedule in the morning– gets horse already tacked up– takes horse through the workout
• walk or jog
• light gallop (1/8 mile in more than 15 seconds)
• gallop (1/8 mile in 14 – 15 seconds)
• work (1/8 mile in 13 seconds or less)
– hands horse over to Hot Walker and gets another
– can ride as many as 16 horses a morning
• How can I become an exercise rider?– a background in formal show training– English riding (hunter/jumper) preferably– ability to adapt to the trainer’s style– control the horse by technique not force
• Assistant Trainer– has taken the “Trainer’s Test” thus can legally
do anything the trainer does– can use his/her judgment to lower the level of
work but not raise it– is accountable for his/her decisions– arranges the workout “sets”
• times, riders, grooms, walkers, etc.
– enters the horse in the race– contracts the jockeys– keeps veterinary records (esp. medications)
• Trainer– Is the legally responsible party– stalls at the racetrack are free but trainer must
run horses in races• horse owners pay for care & feeding, labor,
insurance, etc. (~$120/day at Silver Fox)
– sets workout schedule for each horse– determines what races a horse will run in
• Jockey– starts at a young age– usually has little education– represented by an agent– earns a fixed fee of about $100 per ride– in Stakes races – earns 10% if 1st, 2nd, or 3rd
– agent gets 25% usually– weight very important especially in
“handicapped” races
• Other employees of a training stable:– Night/Day Watchman
• responsible for watching the horses in the barn– water, health, safety, etc.
– Assistants
Race Track Employees
• Board of Stewards– enforce rules and settle disputes
• Horse Identifier– keeps a notebook of all horses running that day
• horse name, color markings, lip tattoo, hair swirls
– determines that it is the correct horse
• Track Veterinarian– tracks medications given to horses– pulls pre and post race samples (blood and
urine)– checks each horse before the race for soundness– carries a euthanasia kit in case of an accident
The veterinarian or the jockey can pull a horse from a race if the horse is not right (lame, crashes into the gate, etc.)
The Day of the Race
Horse entered in a race is quarantined
“Vote”
4 yr. old dark bay gelding by Valid Expectations - Rayofsunshine
entered in the 6th race