A dream of mine is to have always had a job at the track, but i really do not know much of any jobs there really except a handful. So my question is, what are jobs on the track? what do they do? education required? salary? minimum age? Just trying to see my options 
I guess my question isā¦ are you a morning person? BTDT. You need to be able to be bright eyed and cheery at 4 AM and have your own transportation.
What type of job? Groom/stable hand, exercise rider? When I was an exercise rider it was $10/hr, but this was over a decade ago. It is hard work but you learn a lot. We were responsible for 3 horses each, would groom, tack, breeze/ride, untack, hose off, and walk out. Days off we would hand-walk them around shedrow for an hour. Clean tack, clean stall, refill water and haybags, tidy the aisle, and collaborate with trainers about the next dayās schedule.
You should be able to already know how to ride W/T/C, sit any sort of misbehavior/have a good seat, and know how to wrap/bandage and other barn chores. Some stables are more flexible and are willing to teach you their way. I was 16. I think the minimum age varies on your state.
Good luckā¦
Trainer - pass trainers test and pay the licensing fee. No education required.
Assistant trainer - like the above.
Groom - takes care of 3-4 horses on a daily basis, no riding. No education required.
Exercise rider - rides 6-10 horses a day. No education required.
Hot Walker - walks 8-10 horses a day to cool them out after they train, or on āwalkā days. No education required.
Some barns have a foreman instead of an assistant trainer, or if itās a big barn, in addition to the asst trainer.
Some trainers and assistant trainers also gallop horses.
Most of these jobs are 6 days a week.
You usually have to be 16 to get a license to work at the track, itās state regulated so some states may have different ages.
Salary - usually a weekly amount and you get a bonus (called a stake) if a horse you gallop or groom wins a race. Assistants get stakes too, the amount varies. The going salary depends on where you are located. No one gets benefits.
You may be more marketable at the track if you first work for a bit at the farm, starting colts and getting to know how to groom for the track and gallop, etc.
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āNo education required,ā but most states require a minimum number of years of licensed experience in another capacity and a licensed trainer to vouch for you before they will let you test with the stewards.
Exercise rider - rides 6-10 horses a day. No education required.
āNo education required,ā but again, most states require you to gallop for the stewards before they will award you a license. One really needs to begin galloping on a farm before considering riding on the track.
I know you know those these nuances, but someone new to the industry may not.
I was always paid a weekly salary for my jobs as hot walker/groom/foreman/rider; occasionally it was per horse, but Iāve never been paid hourly in any of my racing positions.
The salary is usually considerably better than other horse jobs, but itās not uncommon to be expected to work 6 or 7 days a week. Most trainers at the track have limited interest in employing āpart-timeā type help, but it also just depends on the barn.
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Hijacking. . . .so an exercise rider at the farm is going to require less experience than at the track? Iām probably going to be too old by the time thereās room in my life for a job again, but itās on my bucket list. How old is too old?
Iāve got to take exception this, a bit of BS and condescending. If you are saying it doesnāt take a formal education, college degree OK. But to say any of the above jobs donāt require a āskill educationā is nonsense It takes more than 4 years to be able working your way up; the ladder, learning you way up the ladder to be able to get an trainers license by and large. Granted it does ājustā take āpassingā a trainerās test to get licensed. But that in no way shape or form guarantees you will be able to make a living. Chances are slim to none.
Just because someone has been riding hunter/jumpers for years doesnāt mean they are ready nor will the be granted an exercise license.
Groom, good grooms are highly skilled and very sought after. In years past groomed rubbed 3-4 horses, These days most grooms are paid by the horse, $100Ā± and can rub up to 6 horses. Depending on the size of the outfit they only had to feed the barn X amount of afternoons a week. Afternoon feeding usually split among the the various grooms. In bigger barns that had a foreman that person usually handled all of the feeding. Groom took care of the hay. Most days grooms are finished by 11:00Ā±. They generally only worked afternoons if one of their horses are running.
It used to be regardless of oneās horse background just all started out with a barn as a hot walker. But because people arenāt exactly lining up for jobs at the track there are plenty that have little to no background with horse that are hired to walk hots. They learn on the job.
Just like any profession when one starts with little to no āracetrackā background you will most likely start out with the ālower levelā trainers. The idea is to get real good at your craft and get a job with a top trainer. These people have the pick of the litter. Hot walker, grooms and exercise riders. When you get a job in these barn you should never have to worry about you pay check not clearing the bank.
Not ever barn , few barns start at 4 in the morning. Especially in the winter.when the sun doesnāt come up until after 7. Unless you have a long commute.
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Did you work for your parents? lol. I didnāt realize how much more money I was worth until I went to work for other trainers after leaving my families little training outfit.
For years freelance exercise riders were paid $10 per horse. These days most are paid $15 at the majority of ānameā tracks Most can easily gallop at least 2+ an hour. Very few if any also groom. At the big barns they can be or are on salary, $650-750 week with good outfit. But these riders come with a very good resume.
Some exercise rider also have a good āponyā so they can work the afternoons during racing ponying horses for trainers. It can be very good extra money.
Hereās how I got my very first job at the track (1980): Went to the entrance gate at Aqueduct, asked gate guy how I could get a job. Gate guy called a trainer who especially liked to hire newbies (donāt ask). He got me licensed and I became a hot walker. Less than a week later trainer figured I was over qualified to be a hot walker and gave me one horse to groom. After I proved myself he gave me three. Voila.
Once I was āon the trackā it was easy to network and get grooming jobs with other trainers ā one of them let me borrow a stall for my own personal horse and I became a (morning) pony girl for him, then went freelance. Exercise riding just happened from there. Natural course of events. Eventually I became a trainer. Certainly paid my dues to get there --worked at five different tracks in the tri-state area (NY, NJ, PA) + Aiken SC, and seven different trainers in various capacities.
No idea how things are now. But back then you could just show up at the gate. Trainers were usually looking for help.
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Iām going to call BS and condescending on you. Here is the original post -
āSo my question is, what are jobs on the track? what do they do? education required? salary? minimum age?ā
I donāt see the words āskillā or āexperience.ā Iām going to give a poster called ponycrazyjumper enough credit to understand the difference between āeducationā and āexperience.ā Having been involved in a literacy program at the track, I can also attest that many of the workers from Central and South America have less than the high school equivalent of an education.
And please point out where I said the jobs donāt require a āskill education,ā because I did not say that nor did I infer that. I had basic backyard/local showing experience when I started out at the track. I hot walked and also galloped the two easiest horses in the barn and within two years of galloping on weekends and summers I was working all the horses in the barn because I had such a spot on clock in my head.
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The only things that guarantee a trainer will make a living, are LUCK and $$$. Luck in knowing owners or potential owners with $$$$$. Luck in buying the right horses at sales or producing the right horses through breeding. Luck in claiming the right horses. Luck in having the right horses that also donāt break down. Luck in having horses that win or hit the board regularly. Itās all about luckā¦and being able to withstand the unlucky times by being lucky enough to have owners with $$$$. Luck and $$$ā¦because at the end of the day itās always a horserace.
I donāt really agree with this. Itās a lot of hard work. The good trainers can read the condition book, correctly asses the ability of the horses in the barn, and has an excellent memory for the abilities of horses that may compete against the trainerās horses. Those who are depending on luck are not really cut out for being race horse trainers. They may be good horsemen, but they donāt have a head for the racing business. They usually win at 10% or less. You can mitigate what you call bad luck by keeping a close eye on the health and condition of the horse (minimizes breakdowns), putting them in races where they can win or hit the board (that has NOTHING to do with luck) and choosing owners and horses carefully. You donāt have to accept every horse or owner that comes calling.
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Not sure anyone answered this, so I figured I would, despite the fact Iām the worldās worst gallop girl. :lol:
In a nutshell, it depends on the farm. Some farms are busy training centers with nearly as many horses as a racetrack, others are private with minimal activity. Many focus primarily on breaking babies.
Itās not that riding on a farm requires āless experienceā per se, but rather farms tend to be a safer places to learn to gallop. Trainers at private farms are often more willing to teach a green rider. This is because itās less risk to horses/riders, also because they may have fewer riders available depending on location and pay. Farms arenāt regulated by the racing commissions and stewards, so you donāt need to receive a license/approval as an exercise rider. On the other hand, you usually donāt have outriders or EMTs on sight to help you out in a bind. You need to know what youāre getting in to and make sure you have experienced people to teach you, because there are unfortunately some unsavory individuals who just want a body to put up on a horse.
It may sound counter-intuitive, but breaking babies is the absolute best way to start if you are close to a farm that does it. You learn and develop fitness together; galloping requires a tremendous amount of endurance and upper body strength thatās not comparable to any other discipline. Itās also dangerous riding; itās not a matter of being ātoo oldā to learn, but rather your personal health and strength.
Perfect explanation. And I say this from experience having owned/managed my own (semi-busy) training farm for many, many years.
The only so called āridersā I absolutely refused to hire, were those who showed up (looking for a job) wearing a brand new pair of boots. New boots = canāt ride. An old horsemanās addage that proved to be true.
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If training racehorses was only a hard work, excellent memory and reading skills sport (not being facetious here)ā¦.then no one would be interested in doing it. Lady Luck ā the thrill of chance ā is what keeps the sport intriguing, and not just for the bettors. Without that component, a horserace (and all that it takes to get there) wouldnāt be a contest.
But I digress from my original point. And I do see yours. So Iāll put it this way: Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.
Didnāt know there was a statistic: 'Those [trainers] who depend on luck only win at 10% or less.ā Okay, that was facetious ā no reasonable person would depend on luck (your word, not mine) ā¦.unless they were a naive poker player.
:lol:
They are not purposefully depending on luck - itās just what happens sometimes. Iām surprised you havenāt heard of the ten percenters. Itās those trainers that perpetually circle the drain, so they might be around for years. Less than 10% and they go out of business as a public stable.
Makes sense that āten percentersā exist. But itās not a label I can remember hearing ā been off the track for too many years.
I was 27 when I started galloping (Iām 29 now and may do it for a couple more years, weāll see) plenty of the people I ride with are in their 30ās, a couple are in their 40ās and one is in their 50s.
Typically, its safer at a farm but once you know what youāre doing, its easier at the track. The farm is āsaferā because there arenāt as many horses on the track at once, but your horses may be way more green or coming off a lay off, and the riders you ride with may be really good or they may be really terrible. At the track, if you have a horse that needs a pony, it will have a pony (but maybe not at the farm). At the track you may have some really terrible riders but the horses are super used to their routine, work 6 or 7 days a week and are less green and if they need time off they are usually sent to a farm.
It probably gets used more now since you can look a trainer up on equibase and check stats.
