We talk in fractions.
“The eight is 9-2”
We speak our own language with words like,
Saez and Leparoux and Florent Geroux.
We throw out terms like tongue ties and lay offs.
Any one listening to use chat would think what in the world are these guys in the red suspenders talking about?
We get up before dawn with the colts and the fillies to watch their morning gallops as the sunrises against the San Gabriel Mountains. A little sleep lost is worth it when you are wondering if the two year old who just breezed by will win a Triple Crown race next year.
Even on our days off we plan excursions to other race tracks. Even during Santa Anita’s spring meet, days off are spent in the big green grandstand, being a fan for once and not offering newbies helpful comments and teaching them the ways of wagering.
We were all jealous of our coworker who was working for a week at the big sale in Kentucky, hungrily gobbling up the tweets ring side of majestic broodmares selling for over a million dollars.
Today I spent my day at work teaching the new girl a thing or two about being a wagering ambassador. Of course the new girl I speak of is ex jockey Joy Scott, someone who has been in the horse racing game since the eighties, she was the leading Arabian rider in Southern California for many years. Obviously this woman knows way more about horses and horse racing than I could ever know but it was a pleasure today to hang out with her and teach her about our new program at Santa Anita Racetrack. It was phenomenal each time someone came up and asked her for an autograph, I felt like I was hanging out with the racing legend, even if some of those people actually thought she was leading female jockey Julie Krone.
It was so amazing to hang out with her, and meet good friends of hers like Zoe Cadman from HRTV, and Jay Hovdey who is one of the leading sports writers in the thoroughbred industry. I have been reading Jay’s columns since I was 12 years old and it was so amazing to shake his hand today and tell him what a big fan of his I am.
Every day that I walk into the green grandstand of Santa Anita Race Track I just feel so blessed. I can’t believe this is my life. I never thought I would love a job like this. I never thought I would have a job in the race track industry. My wagering ambassador friends are quickly becoming like race track family.
When did work stop being work and start being so much fun?
I found my people.
It took me thirty five years but I’ve never had a circle of friends or work coworkers like this.