Jobs in the industry

[Buddha]

So I have kinda come to wonder. How does someone actually get into the industry as an employee? I would love to get a job in the racing office or something at a track, but for the most part, it seems to be a who you know type of thing. I don't particularly want to be a groom or something of the like, but I would love to find some sort of job in the horse racing industry. They always say, do something you love and you will never work a day in you life, and I love horse racing :)

any advice would be appreciated :)

[rwwupl]

So I have kinda come to wonder. How does someone actually get into the industry as an employee? I would love to get a job in the racing office or something at a track, but for the most part, it seems to be a who you know type of thing. I don't particularly want to be a groom or something of the like, but I would love to find some sort of job in the horse racing industry. They always say, do something you love and you will never work a day in you life, and I love horse racing :)

any advice would be appreciated :)



http://ag.arizona.edu/rtip/images/careers_in_racing.pdf


Contact the U.A. they have a fine program for most positions in horse racing.

[BluegrassProf]

Equine industry programs - informative though they may surely be - are really most effective in terms of establishing substantive in-the-biz contacts. At the end of the day, with the incredibly inbred management of American racing, it's absolutely a who you know type of thing.
That said, any chance to make contacts is a good one, and gaining some knowledge along the way is never a bad thing.

[46zilzal]

So I have kinda come to wonder. How does someone actually get into the industry as an employee? I would love to get a job in the racing office or something at a track, but for the most part, it seems to be a who you know type of thing. I don't particularly want to be a groom or something of the like, but I would love to find some sort of job in the horse racing industry. They always say, do something you love and you will never work a day in you life, and I love horse racing :)

any advice would be appreciated :)
You have to have an "in." Some way of knowing a mover and shaker or they will NEVER look you way. Wherever you want to land, discover who these people are and network with them a sales, promotions, via e-mails, AT the track in question..... When these people put a face to a name, they can open doors for you.

Become a groom or hot walker, sell programs, anything to get you foot in the door because it is a field of nepotism which you have to overcome and it is difficult. I am amazed at how many relations are in one job or another.

A great way is to volunteer at one of the many horse retirement projects and back track to the source.

[46zilzal]

http://ag.arizona.edu/rtip/images/careers_in_racing.pdf


Contact the U.A. they have a fine program for most positions in horse racing.
Do you KNOW what that costs? upwards of $50K as I investigated it

[sonnyp]

i was in the backstretch end of the industry most of my life. you are correct in that i never felt i was working because i loved it.

however, you must be somewhat realistic. if you need to earn a living, this is an industry in disarray and on the verge of significant decline. with the decline goes a cutback in job opportunities, wages etc.

i know an individual, well connected with 25 plus years in the racing office who hopes not to lose his job. this is NOT an industry with a bright future for young people.

[46zilzal]

Most tracks have grooms schools on the premises. Be ready for long hours and little pay but it is an excellent way to learn the business FIRST HAND and network with people. I did it for a year, volunteering mostly weekends and learned a tremendous amount that no book will ever teach you unless you go to vet school. Shoeing (both corrective and regular), all the routine vet treatments like vitamin shots and worming, tack, the routine care of legs both protective and in response to injury, (A REAL FUN ONE, especially on hot days) MUCKING stalls, cribbers, rockers, the minor scrapes they get both in the stall and on the track, the hot walking machines, learning the standard pathologies of filling tendon sheaths, body soreness, splints, fetlocks, coffin bone problems, sand cracks, quarter cracks, string halting, spavins, conformational problems and how they are protected, leaning what the vet looks for in gait problems, understanding all manner of lameness, nutrition which is especially a problem with fillies, thrush etc etc etc

[thespaah]

I wouldn't try a career transition into the racetrack industry right now. Not until things shake out.
I believe a major contraction in the business is about to take place.
I think in the not too distant furture there will be fewer tracks and fewer race dates. The reason behind this belief is simple. Too many tracks competing for the same stock in limited geographic regions. Add to that, falling on track attendance and all sources handle.
Heck, once the $25 million New York loaned NYRA runs out, there may not be a NYRA. It got so bad that NYRA sent notices of layoff to it's 1,400 employees before the State stepped in with the money lifeline. That's frightening.

[Brogan]

Most tracks have grooms schools on the premises.

I think at "most" tracks, the groom's school is more like get a job as a hotwalker, watch what goes on, ask questions, volunteer to help with whatever is needed, then get a job rubbing horses and really start learning.

[Hanover1]

Some of my best deals have gone down at the sales ring. Most everyone there is for that crop expected to move forwards, and contacts are all around you. Casual chit-chat can produce results. One of my most lucrative positions was procured by attending a major sale in Milan, Italy, while speaking, at the time, broken italian, at best. It led to a farm tour, an invite to sit in a working set of colts, and rate the trip, and answer questions as best I could. Everyone walked away happy........

[Robert Goren]

If you don't want a job dealing with horses, trying getting a job as a teller and suck up to the bosses.

[46zilzal]

If you don't want a job dealing with horses, trying getting a job as a teller and suck up to the bosses.
management is trying to get rid of all tellers and just have machines. No long term salary disputes

[Hedevar]

http://www.harnesslink.com/www/Article.cgi?ID=52938

Remember this one, when Hawthorne ran harness races but you could not bet on them on track because of a labor dispute.

management is trying to get rid of all tellers and just have machines. No long term salary disputes

[Bullet Plane]

The late, great Bobby Frankel started out walking hots and mucking out stalls. You might try that track.

Of course, for every Bobby Frankel there are probably thousands who walk hots and muck out stalls and thats as far as it goes.

Hope that helps.

Good luck with your racetrack endeavers.

[jballscalls]

Show up to your local track and apply for a job. I wanted to get into the industry and so i showed up at Emerald Downs to see what they were hiring for, not knowing anyone in the industry, got hired as a media assistant. since i worked on the roof, i got to meet Robert Gellar and started practicing announcing. started going up on the roof at Emerald and PM and practiced, made a tape, sent it to River Downs where i didn't know anyone, got a great recommendation from Boomer towards the people at RD and got the job.

basically just show up. there is an old saying around the tracks, once you get in, there will always be a job for you and it's pretty true. most guys i work with have worked at many other tracks and have done a million different jobs.

when i started looking around i got some great advice with breaking into the business and into announcing specifically by private messaging people on these boards from Boomer, Vic S., and Robert Gellar and they offered great pointers on how to get in, but more importantly, stay in

[bigmack]

for every Bobby Frankel there are probably thousands who walk hots and muck out stalls and thats as far as it goes.

Hope that helps.
Utterly inspirational. :rolleyes:

[rwwupl]

So I have kinda come to wonder. How does someone actually get into the industry as an employee? I would love to get a job in the racing office or something at a track, but for the most part, it seems to be a who you know type of thing. I don't particularly want to be a groom or something of the like, but I would love to find some sort of job in the horse racing industry. They always say, do something you love and you will never work a day in you life, and I love horse racing :)

any advice would be appreciated :)


http://sn117w.snt117.mail.live.com/default.aspx?wa=wsignin1.0

Del Mar has a program that they are proud of:

Excerpt:

A diverse trio of young people with a hunger to learn all they can about the business of horse racing make up the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club's 2010 intern class.

One holds a degree in journalism, one has been a student-life coordinator in Rome and the third is a veterinarian's son. As different as their backgrounds may appear to be, one factor is common to all three -- the horse. And that makes them perfect candidates for the seaside racetrack's intern program that began in 1977.

rwwupl

roger@hanaweb.org

http://horseplayersassociation.org/

[sandpit]

I worked in the industry for 17 years, and I knew absolutely no one when I started as an intern in the racing office at Churchill Downs. From there, it progressed to a year-round racing official job, which I loved. Words of warning though. You have to like to live like a gypsy and like working weekends and nights with no benefits (at least in KY). Also, as track cut days, officials lose pay since they work on day rates. For example, when I worked at Ellis and Turfway, I got paid six days a week, but that's down to 4 now with the abbreviated racing schedules.

Being an official is a great life if you are single and don't mind the road, two things I qualified for when I started. Not so much fun if you have a family though.

[The Hawk]

Utterly inspirational. :rolleyes:

But 100% accurate.

[KingChas]

http://www.nyra.com/saratoga/stories/Jun082010.shtml

A little late for this,but there are contacts.

[WinterTriangle]

Buddha, I only have general advice, but I have found that the more focussed you are on a goal, that means every detail of it, the more chance you have of getting there.

Let's say you want to be a bloodstock agent. You would have to immerse yourself in learning pedigree, conformation, racing and the marketplace, go to auctions, etc.

If you want to be a barn foreman or ass't trainer, you have to know horses, but also people, so you can manage staff.

I ran a internship program for a large northeastern university, and students who were ultra clear about exactly what they wanted to do were the most successful in finding their future job.

What skills do you already have that you can build on, i.e., "transferable skills".?

[WinterTriangle]

Buddha,

What is your background and educational experiece? (no need to answer this publically)

PM me as I just heard about a very interesting internship opportunity........pays poorly of course, but a great "in".