WOMEN MAKE A MAJOR IMPACT IN MARYLAND HARNESS RACING
This article is paid content, sponsored by the Maryland Standardbred Coalition and written by The Equiery’s Industry Advisor Ross Peddicord.
OXON HILL, MD—March is Women’s History Month and there’s no better time to recognize the increasing role of women in Maryland harness racing.
Look around the paddock or the corporate and regulatory offices any night at Rosecroft Raceway or Ocean Downs and women are everywhere. Women fill a multitude of roles from track general manager, racing official, owner, trainer, driver, caretaker and yes, as members of the Maryland Racing Commission.
There are now more women making a career or taking jobs in harness racing than at any time in Maryland racing. It is not an overnight development, but one that has grown organically over time. It was over 50 years ago, in 1972, that Judy Welty, then Judy Emerson, was the first woman driver to win a race at Rosecroft.
“But it hasn’t come easy, no matter what the role,” said Dr. Rebecca Peterson, head veterinarian for First Equine, a company that runs the test barn, officiates in emergencies, and administers Lasix at Rosecroft/Ocean Downs. “We’ve had to prove ourselves in a man’s world.”
“We’re no longer just the wives and mothers of the men,” said Sharon Roberts, executive director of Cloverleaf Standardbred Owners Association, the official organization representing harness horsemen, although she is proudly both! “We’ve now set a new normal for women’s involvement” noted Stacey McLenaghan, who has won over 400 races as both a driver and trainer.
So why have so many women decided to make harness racing a career? No matter who you talk to it’s a passion for horses, especially the sounder Standardbreds; the family atmosphere that pervades the sport; and an accessible, more down home vibe.
“Success in the bike isn’t about strength alone; it’s about the perfect balance of grit to finish and the grace to handle the horse.”
Track general managers Lisa Watts at Rosecroft and Bobbi Jones at Ocean Downs oversee complex racing and in Jones’ case, casino, operations for large national/international corporations. They are both strong leaders. Watts reports to the Canadian-based 1sT Racing or Stronach Group, owner of Rosecroft; and Jones to Churchill Downs, the public company operating Ocean Downs Casino and Racetrack.
They have both worked their way up from entry level jobs in either the racing or the hospitality industries after decades of hard work in just about every aspect of their jobs. “I like to say women are good at ‘clutch management,’” Watts said. “That means multi tasking and being able to make quick transitions in case something goes wrong. And, invariably, it does.”
Watts notes that many on her staff are female, including Lisa White, director of finance and human relations; Gail Lammers, assistant racing secretary and horse identifier; Betsy Brown, starter; and Mary McDermott, horsemen’s bookkeeper. Many have been with her for 20 or more years.
“It’s definitely not an old boys network anymore,” Watts added.
Gina Maybee, Executive Vice President of Cloverleaf, is proof of that. She came to Maryland over 20 years ago with a background in the tech industry, working as a web designer, with little knowledge of horses. That all changed when she started dating a horseman and gravitated to working on the backstretch. “That was my mid life crisis,” she said. Her tech knowledge has brought Maryland harness racing into the digital age. She incorporates that technical skill with a hands on personal approach, getting to know just about every participant and nuance in the game, including the horses.
Then there is a new up-and-coming cadre of female trainers and drivers. Some, like Alex Goldin, went to college and earned a degree; others like Kayla Pressell, went right from high school into horses. “I have a boyfriend and a barn full of horses,” she quipped. Her boyfriend, Tim Deaton, is a driver and together they train a string of horses.
Courtney Brooks and Mackenzie Keil are first cousins. They operate separate stables on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Courtney trains out of the family farm in Church Hill. Mackenzie has her own place in Denton. Their grandfather is Eddie Gannon, well-known and respected harness owner-trainer-driver.
“We were born into it, and couldn’t fight it!” Courtney said.
Kerry Welty followed a similar path as her mother Judy, although she has no desire to be a driver. She trains four horses and while she worked with Thoroughbreds, she prefers the quiet life of training on the family farm in Westminster. Her cousin Richard Hans lives next door and has owned and bred several Maryland Sires Stakes winners including world champion Googoo Gaagaa.
Veteran women trainers like Colby Hubble from Frederick and Janet Davis from Hartley, Del., said they feel like mentors to these young women. They both grew up in harness racing families.
Hubble pursued bachelor and master degrees in chemistry and business administration from Hood College in Frederick, but horses have always been her first love. “It takes a lot of hard work and dedication,” she said. “I think women have a special connection with horses and a lot of them first become grooms and then trainers. Then if they want to experience the thrill of driving, they can become qualifying and amateur drivers, and some go on to the professional level. There is a whole amateur series that is accessible to many people. I think the more exposure that we can give them, and the more they see women competing, then they realize it’s accessible and not just male dominated.”
Janet Davis reiterates that it is not an easy life. “You have to show up every day, and you get out of it what you put into it, “she said. “But the harness world is like a big family, folks help each other out, although when you get behind that starting gate, you don’t know one another! We all want to win. And running a barn is like having 15 kids and caring for them all at one time.”
“But,” she added proudly. “I see all these intelligent young women coming up right now, and I’m loving it!”
