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Editor’s Note:
Diane Rice received the note below from Eugene Joyce. Diane reached out to Mr. Joyce, saying she would pass his note on but that she felt everyone still needed things to look forward to and aspire to, and they need hope. Mr. Joyce agreed, and allowed us to publish this Industry Profile.
“Diane, I’m having second thoughts about running your piece at this time when our whole industry and the U.S. economy is undergoing such upheaval. I’m not sure people are going to be that interested in my charmed life.
On Thursday (March 19) in Wyoming, the governor shut down all public spaces for two weeks, including bars, restaurants and our OTB’s. Our industry is shut down. I pray to God it’s only two weeks.
I have kept all my employees on payroll despite no income in the hopes we reopen on April 4. If this goes on much longer, well.....
I get several calls a day from horsemen asking if we are running in June. I tell them we are planning on running. I tell them that it’s
‘full steam ahead’ unless I hear someone yell ‘Iceberg!’ They appreciate the optimism and the humor, but I can tell it has a lot of good people worried.
Just look at all the tracks that have shut down recently, Sunland, Turf Paradise, Fairgrounds, etc...
I’m sure we’ll get through this,
but I don’t want to appear cavalier about what is happening now. In two weeks, everybody’s world has turned upside down.
If you could pass this on to your editors, I’d appreciate it. Hopefully, in a few months we will be living in a sunnier world.
Thanks again. You write beautifully.”
Karen’s Appaloosa horse “Philly” at 22 years of age
enough cushion to absorb the pounding those horses get when they’re running at full speed. In this business, they don’t pay you by the clock; it’s the first one across the line, so the heck with the times and the speed indexes. Let’s just get them over the ground safely.”
That dedication to safety paid off at the Breeders’ Cup in 2004 when it went to Lone Star Park. “We were told that that year was the first Breeders’ Cup ever that a horse ambulance didn’t go onto the track in the two days. I’m not taking credit for the hard work that Ron Moore, the track superintendent, did, but to be a part of that was my proudest accomplishment until I came back to Wyoming.”
His group had leased Sweetwater Downs
at the fairgrounds outside Rock Springs and because of a demolition derby in front of
the grandstand, they couldn’t get access until Monday for races to start on Saturday. “We had four days to turn a racetrack that had been in mothballs for 19 years into a safe track,” he says.
Soil testing revealed the silt and clay component exceeded 45 percent. “You want it to be 16 to 18 percent,” he says. “When you start hitting 20 percent, it compacts like asphalt and you start having breakdowns.
“I can’t even remember how much sand we had to put on that racetrack. We had belly dumps of sand coming for three days straight,
just dumping it on the track and spreading it out, then we had to rip and till it, then we had to work it up, and I think the first time the horses could get onto the track was Friday afternoon.
“We had horses shipping in from all over
the Intermountain West, and we didn’t have
one horse break down,” he says. “The track ambulance never came onto the track. Zero breakdowns for four straight years. That’s the thing about horse racing: It’s a communal venture. It’s people getting together and working hard;
it’s a magic mixture of people doing what they
do best and having it all come together to make something positive happen for a lot of people.
“It’s really a blessing in my life to see the industry get to the point where people can make a living at it and have some fun doing it,” he adds. “Success is always sweeter when you can share it with friends. I’m the kind of guy who likes to be down at the rail in the morning during training. I like to tell people there’s not a long line to get to me, and it’s a way for me to keep my finger on the pulse of what’s going on, not only for the jockeys and the horsemen, but the horses themselves. That’s the fun part of racing for me. And of course, on race day, the people in the stands. I like
to say that if you can’t get excited watching a horse race, you’d better double check to make sure you still have a pulse!”
SPEEDHORSE April 2020 93