Getting in the game at last

You might recall that, at the end of the last installment, our trainer, Andy, had just told us that our colt was ready to begin his racing career. The excitement of that momentous announcement set in motion my long-awaited career in this racing business. Of course, there were a few details yet to be worked out.

Every horse that races must be identifiable as the horse listed on their foaling papers. Many horses, naturally, look very similar, so to keep everyone honest, every horse is given a numbered tattoo, which is placed by a professional on the underside of the upper lip with an inked stamp. This tattoo can be easily checked by a racing official every time a horse enters the paddock before a race for the rest of their racing career. Of course, there is a cost for this service, but we willingly paid. Next was the issue of the racing silks – the shirt the jockey wears. The pattern and colors of the silks are representative of the owner or owners of the horse. My two partners already had raced before and had their own individual silks, but they both graciously allowed the silks that I had designed to be worn by our jockey. I had always liked a pattern of rows of diamonds on the front and back and used that as the basis for my signature design. I made the sleeves the base color gold, with alternating purple, red, and gold diamonds. I’d had the design in mind for a while; the school colors where I was teaching were purple and gold, and one of my best friend’s school colors were red and gold. We had often joked about someday having a race horse together, so I thought that, if that ever happened, we would be ready with this specific color of silks.

Next up was finding a race for which our horse qualified. Every race track publishes a condition book that lists all the races for the upcoming 3 to 4 weeks. In it are all the races that they intend to run on each specific day. These races list the distance of each race and the conditions for which the horses must meet to be eligible to compete. Our horse had never won a race, which qualified him for a condition called maiden. Horses classed as maiden could have run before; if they have never won, they qualify. There are many types of races with many conditions and at many distances. The racing secretary’s job is to list races that he thinks horsemen will enter, so as to have enough races every day to fill the racing program. The best races, Stakes races, have the biggest purses but require an entry fee. Most other races are free to enter and are open to horses who meet the race’s conditions. The problem for horsemen is that if enough horses do not enter a race listed in the book, the secretary will not use that race on the day that it is listed, as his job is to get the most horses on the track to encourage the betting public to wager more money. A horseman can prepare his charge to race on a certain day, but there may not be enough other entrants to fill the race. In that case, the trainer is out of luck and must wait until that race condition is again listed in the book. Finding a race for one’s horse can be very difficult at times, and frustrating, as well. Trainers enter their horses 3 days before the day the race is scheduled, so they know in advance if the race will go, or if they must wait for another day. Waiting, after you have submitted your entry – and with no guarantee your steed will make the field -can be quite nerve racking.

We aimed for a Maiden race to be run at 6f (3/4 of a mile) the distance Andy preferred for our colt. When one enters a horse for a race, the trainer must also name a jockey at that time. Fortunately, Andy had experience with several jockeys and chose one who he felt would fit our first-time starter. This choice of a rider must first be negotiated with the jockey’s agent to make sure he, or she, wants to ride our horse. Being able to convince the jockey you prefer to ride for you is another important attribute of a trainer.

Three days before the race that we were aiming for, Andy officially entered Monsieur Leclercq. We waited to hear if his race would be used, and whether or not he got into it. This was another element of the process I had to learn. If more than 12 horses were entered for a specific race, racing officials will draw names at random to see which horses get into the race and which ones must wait until another day. After that initial draw, those horses who get into the race are then redrawn, this time to see what post position they will start from. Entries are taken in morning, and the racing card is announced several hours later. In other words, you enter your horse, and then you wait – and wait, and wait. When the card for our race was about to be announced, I felt I could almost see my heart beating through my chest. Then the announcement came over the loud speaker, and we all held our breaths. A minute or two later, it was official: we had made it into the race. Our long-awaited start was to be race #3, Monday, July 3. Monsieur Leclercq would start from post number #9 in a nine-horse field.

We were in the game. We were finally going to be racing!

The field for our race was full of horses that had already run before. Monsieur was the only first-time starter. Many of my friends and several family members showed up to share this experience with me, which alone made this whole “horse thing” that much more worthwhile and rewarding. Some trainers will tell you that they have no idea how a horse will run in their initial start – just turn him loose and hope for the best. For a young horse, being around that many other horses can be intimidating. The entire experience can be overwhelming. I was very nervous, not only for our young colt, but because this whole event was a dream come true for me and would certainly be a special moment in my life, no matter what happened in the race. But as the horses entered the track, my heart sank a bit when I noticed that our jockey was not wearing the colorful racing silks I’d designed. (Later, I found out that the jockey’s valet had failed to find mine and, at the last minute grabbed a pair of plain white silks.) It was a sunny, warm July day, though, and our horse was about to run for the first time, and I wasn’t about to let something as silly as silks get me down. There was a horse in the race who had run very well before and was the favorite as displayed by the odds on the tote board. But lo and behold, our little gray horse was the betting public’s second choice.

As they entered the starting gate, Monsieur Leclercq seemed to be handling everything well. Me, not so much. The dozen or so supporters of our colt that were on hand gathered by the rail to cheer on this dream of mine. Then in a flash the gates sprung open and they were off. As expected, the favorite went right to lead and opened up 5 lengths on the field. M. Leclercq broke slowly and at the first quarter pole was a tight 8th, only 5 lengths from the front. I’m unfortunately forced to say only in this instance because he would never get any closer to the leader than that. He tired badly, finishing eighth out of the nine runners, beaten by 17 lengths by the favorite. (That favorite, incidentally, did eventually go on to win a Stakes race.)

I was disappointed, but not dismayed. After the race, I went back to the barn to see my young gray son looking tired and wide-eyed, but healthy, and seemingly a bit confused by what had just happened to him. Andy told me to keep the faith.

“It’s not unusual for horses to act like that after a first start,” he told me. “I’ve seen horses run like that and improve significantly in the next race. Try not to worry about it too much.”

I clung to that advice as I returned to the grandstand to thank all my friends for their support and encouragement.

Buoyed by Andy’s comments, my own optimistic nature, and the sheer thrill of the day, I couldn’t wait until Monsieur Leclercq raced again. No matter how he did in that one, or in any others he might run, I was hooked. It was everything I had dreamed of and more. Watching these majestic creatures run, the pageantry of the race, the thrill of owning a contestant – all of it together was far beyond what I had expected. Even now, after having owned shares in 22 other race horses, that excitement has never waned. We bought a couple of horses and claimed a few others. That said, I never expected to wind up involved in the breeding of thoroughbred race horses.

Boy, was I wrong.

To be continued…