Sunday morning was the first day I watched one of my two race horses work out live and in person at the track.
First I had to check in with security at the “Horseman’s” entrance to get into the property. (The entrance for the general public is not open this early.) The stables were bustling with all kinds of activity as I made way through the stables to one of the viewing platforms track side used by owners trainers and other track personnel. Horses were being fed or groomed and some horses were being kitted out for training sessions. Two horses were behaving badly as was evident by one horse repeatedly kicking at a wooden fence while being led back to the stables and the other horse that was not listening to its rider and was galloping through the stables erratically causing me to give it a wide berth just to be safe.
Once alongside the track at the viewing platform I watched as several horses made their way onto the track. At first I was the only person at the viewing platform but soon there were than a half dozen people watching the horses “breeze” (work out but not at full speed or intensity). I met the trainer of our horses, a jockey agent and a few other owners.
It was interesting to see my horse work out and see the differences in how the different horses went through their work outs. Some ran faster than others some slower than others. Some horses ran in pairs some alone. I learned that horses going at a slow pace do not stay close along the rail because the faster horses are usually running close to the rail. And photographically it was nice to get some images of the horses and the track from a new perspective.
After the workout was over I walked over to New Brighten Park to look around and get some waterfront photos then it was back to the track at Hastings Racecourse to take in the afternoon racing. I will be writing about and sharing some photos of New Brighten Park soon.
Below are a few photos of one of my horses, Shooting Jacket, “Breezing” on the track.
Creativescans 