can I get into the horse racing buisness without experience?

Question

I am interested in moving up and becoming a trainer some day

I am interested in getting into the horse racing buisness and would like to know what would be the first step of getting my foot in and then gaining any experience

Answer 1

Make sure that it is what you really want to do first. No you do not have to have horse experience. Contact some trainers at the local track and be up front with them. A lot of times, you can get a job that is mucking stalls and a learning position. Sometimes it can be hard. The thing to remember with Thoroughbreds, in general, they are more flighty than most other breeds. Meaning that it does take time and experience to learn to handle them properly. There are always quieter TB's that anyone can handle and most trainers do have quiet hroses in their string. But you do need to know a little bit about the horse.

Horses have two mechanisms built into them. They are "flight or fight". You are probably rolling your eyes like I did the first time I heard this expression. To be honest, I truly hate it. But unfortunately, it is 100% true. I have seen it many times and I will continue to see it. Basically what it means is that a horse will try to escape first (flight) and if he cannot, he will turn and fight. This is true in every horse, no matter what. While the timing may be different on every horse, because some are quieter and some are just more experienced, it remains the same. As a rule of thumb, the younger the horse, the more flighty he is going to be. I know that I am generalizing here, but it needs to be put into practice every time until you know that horse very well.

Leading horses- always lead a horse from the left side. If you turn him, turn him away from you. This will protect you from broken toes and ER trips.

Some practices, at the track especially, can seem cruel, but in fact are safety measures. All horses are lead with a chain over their nose. What this does is it gives you more control and if you have to give a tug on it, it hits the pressure point in his nose and averts his attention away from the distraciton. Make sure you ask about a training procedure before you write it off as abusive.

Sometimes a horse is just plain mean spirited. A fair number of TBs are. They may require two handlers each with a lead shank with a both chains running over his nose to keep his head in the middle to keep him from doing stuff. And they can be mean oujt on the track too. I think ( I am not sure on this) that the Triple Crown winner Affirmed was like this. And then his sons were mean too. Insanity breeds genius, right.

You will not be handling horses like this your first few years, so I hope I didnt scare you. You just have to be prepared.

Training, of any discipline, is a cut throat business, especially in racing. It is very hard to actually become a trainer because there is a lot you have to learn and then to be accepted is another thing. Make sure you do stay away from dirty practices once you do have your lisence because the Jockey Club will suspend it quicker than snot if they think that you are up to something. They also deal out life-time bans too. Once you have your training lisence, you will most likely be working for a claiming barn and then move into low grade barns. If you manage to make it past this stage, then you are set. You may manage to find a decent horse that will start winning stakes or you may make a good enough name for yourself that you will be noticed. It is goign to take years to accomplish this. You will probably not spend less than 10 years as a groom or hot walker. Make sure that you are willing to put the time and the energy in to this kind of career goal.

Contact the local trainers and explain everything and that you want to work with horses and that you want to spend time around the track. Explain that you have to horse experience and that you are willing to learn. I wish you luck in this field as well as all the determination that you are going to need. Keep in mind tha tyou are dealing with 1,000+ pound animals at all times. The horse business period is one of the most rewarding jobs out there. If you decide that you dont like the track, try going and volunteering at a C.A.N.T.E.R. farm. They take in TB that retire from the track whether it be from age or injury, and they adopt them out to people for other purposes. It saves them from the slaughter house. Best of Luck.

Answer 2

Hard to say, it can be done though. These type of fields of interest are like a Clique. Examples are; Showing Dogs, Car Racing even the Music Business. But, a friend of mine; his dad and a couple of other guys had a Race Horse and did Race it no problem. When you go to a hose track they have "Claiming Races" this is an opportunity to buy a Horse. The $5,000 claiming the Horse being sold of $5,000. Others $50,000 etc. just what a person want to buy. Then you can Buy direct from a Breeder and may get a 1-2 year old much cheaper than will need trained. You need a Facility to do this. Hope this helps.

Answer 3

To get into the industry, you will probable have to start as a groom ( cleaning stall, grooming horses etc.). From there some one might see potential in you and you can start exercising horses. Horse racing is a very demanding sport, and its hard to get into. But if you do start at the bottom watch the guys at the top and learn from all of them. Most trainers have at least one good idea. Just keep striving for the top.

Check out some of the horse racing sites that have job postings or if there is a track where you are from go down and hand out resumes or talk to barn managers. You'll never know until you try.

Answer 4

You need some experience. Surely you must know something of horses to be interested, in the first place. Check out the website eHOW/ How to be a horse trainer. THe easiest way to get to the site is to simply perform a yahoo search for "How to become a horse trainer". Step by step, and, the training/ experience you need. Good Luck, go get that next triple crown winner.

Answer 5

Get lots of experience hands on. Find a job anywhere hands on...get some basic experience safely leading and handling them. Do stalls, treat injuries, etc. Prepare to spend a year minimum - learn everything you can. From there contact an off track training center. Learn to do *Thoroughbreds* - more injuries, stalls, management issues. You will need to know this stuff - training isn't just sitting in the winners circle taking the credit. There's a LOT of stuff that happens behind the scene. If you're willing to work you can get there. But you will need some kind of experience even off track. There's a LOT to learn...each horse will teach you something.

Answer 6

If you are interested in "moving up", then don't expect to become a trainer unless you are already in the business of working with horses in some way, shape or form! I'd suggest that you look up the Horse Racing Board in your State. In California, it is called the CHRB (California Horse Racing Board) & this agency issue licenses to everyone who works on the racetracks with the horses. Every state is different. I started out with no experience (referred to as green) by walking horses & bedding stalls. After 2 years, I graduated to groom & ended up specializing in leg work for injured horses who could no longer race & were shipped out to farms & ranches. That lasted for 3 years. Sadly, I can no longer work due to a disability (not horse related) because my state classifies this work as agriculture & the employers don't have to follow the same rules as the regular work world does. Being on the race track circuit means that you are just like a migrant farm worker & it is difficult to collect any type of benefits due to the many trainers who do not pay taxes on their employees earnings like they should. I have seen a few grooms move up to assistant trainer & vets assistant, but very few ever become trainers unless they start out that way & this is due to the old saying "It's not what you know as much as WHO you know." If have seen many people become owners & then trainers of their own horse & get into a partnership with other owners who need a stall for their horse on the track under any trainers name until they enter the horse into a claims race at a low price. It's unethical, yet effective to get your foot in the door! Start talking to trainers who have small barns with one or two horses. They seem to enjoy passing down info, even if it is just to screw someone over, it's still info & it never hurts to listen. You can learn a lot by just hanging out & listening!

Answer 7

i work at woodbine race track for over 20 years, if u don't have any experience, you have to start from the bottom, like walking horses, and u can take some classes en a college close to the race track (Humbert college) to be a groom..and slowly you can gain some experience, and if u like horses, it is up to you how fast u can start...this information is if u live in Toronto area ..but probably in others countries it is the same.if u are from the Toronto area i can give u the phone number of the racetrack..good luck

Answer 8

The best way to start is to try getting a job as a groom at the local track. Or you can see if any local farms are looking for help. That way you can see what is going on, learn the basics and really find out if this is something you want to do.

Answer 9

no. I am a horse trainer byself and the answer is a big NO! You HAVE to have TONS of experience!

Answer 10

no