The Trainer's Perspective: Getting Ready for the First Race

by Sharon Soileau 04-06-2009 02:00 AM

In a recent post, I explained the process of starting young racehorses. In this post, I will go into more detail about the final preparations leading up to the racing debut.

The horse has been preparing for the track for about six months, learning to accept a saddle, bridle, and rider. He has been taught what the bit and reins are for and how to gallop on the racetrack. If everything has gone well, this youngster has had many miles of galloping on the track to condition his tendons, ligaments, and muscles, as well as develop his heart and lungs. Now it is time to really get down to business. The trainer has a potential time frame selected as to when this horse may be ready to start in his first race.

Now that the horse has learned how to gallop, he is ready to begin breezing. A breeze, or workout, is when a horse runs at full speed for a specified distance. These works/workouts are timed by the official clocker at each track. Failure to report the horse’s name and distance to be worked to the clocker can result in a fine to the jockey and trainer.

The proper way to teach a horse to breeze is to let him gradually begin increasing his speed. Most trainers will send out sets of babies together so that they will learn how to run with horses on each side of them. Going in sets also helps to teach them to be competitive. These sets will be composed of anywhere from two to six horses at a time, but in most cases, you will see four going together. The horses are galloped around the track, head and head, and then allowed to increase their speed once they have entered the home stretch. All horses in a set are kept together, meaning they all finish on equal terms.

Each week, they are asked to go a little faster until they can breeze a quarter of a mile. Once this is accomplished, the distance is increased until they are ready for a 3/8 work (three furlongs) wide open. This is when the clocker begins recording times. Most tracks don’t report workouts less than 3/8 of a mile.

The race prospect is now breezing three furlongs with ease. His trainer will begin to increase the distance, usually, until the horse can work six or seven furlongs without stress or fatigue. During this time of final conditioning, the horse must also learn what the starting gates are all about.

The babies will start by walking through the contraption with the front open (pictured to left). Once they will walk through without fear, they will be asked to stand for a few minutes with front and back doors open. After this schooling exercise, the horses are loaded into the gates with the doors shut. One of the gate assistants will open the front doors slowly by hand so that the baby can gradually get used to the metal objects moving so close to his face. This will scare a large number of horses at first, causing them to back up against the tailgate.

Some horses will go to the starting gates for schooling a few times a week, some will go everyday. The trainer will have to decide what is best for each individual horse. During this time, the rider of each horse will encourage, or hustle his mount out of the gates as they open, and let him go a short distance with a little bit of speed. This procedure will teach the horse that when he jumps out, he gets to run.

Now it is time to actually start breaking from the gates. Most starters (the man who opens the gates for the race to begin) will open the gates and ring the bell after the colts have left the gates. After two or three trips like this, the gates will be opened and bell rung simultaneously, just like in an actual race. All of this is done by the push of a button. Starting gates have electro-magnetic closures on the front doors and a bell that sounds when the gates are opened. There is an electrical cord connected to the gates, which the starter holds in his hand. When all the contestants are lined up and ready, he simply pushes a button that automatically opens the front doors of the gates (pictured above). For a good article about a gate crew, click here.

Once a horse has learned to load easily, stand quietly, and break proficiently from the starting gates, he will have to be approved by the starter. All racetracks have different rules and regulations for first-time starters, horses who have never raced but are ready to make their first start.

Most facilities require three or four published works, with at least one being out of the starting gates, and final approval from the official starter. A few tracks require “training races”. These are simulated races that youngsters have to perform in before being allowed to actually compete in a sanctioned race. Training races are held early in the afternoons on non-race days with no wagering allowed. These events are for the benefit of the horses to better prepare them for their upcoming careers.

There are numerous events and time-consuming hours of work involved in getting a horse to his first race. For those people who want to get involved in racing, there are three rules to follow: Patience, patience, and more patience.

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