"All I could think was 'I finally won my first race!’ and that smile hasn’t left my face yet...My dad keeps teasing me, asking how many copies of the win photo I'm going to have made.”
Taylor Spitzig's first ever career win as a trainer this past Tuesday at The Raceway at Western Fair District in London, Ont. is a moment she won't soon forget. The 23-year-old resident of Courtright, Ont. is the owner and trainer of Windwood Nick, who rolled to a 2:00 victory at odds of 11-1 with driver Lorne House aboard.
“When they got past the half and ‘Woody’ was still on top, the excitement started to kick in," said Spitzig, reflecting on the race. "I was yelling at the top of my lungs from the fence hoping he would keep going. I don’t even remember seeing the finish I was just way too excited. And then I questioned myself thinking he may have got nipped at the wire because it was close, but then I heard Brad in the starting car say ‘test the winner No. 3’ and I started walking to the winner's circle with probably the biggest, goofiest, smile on my face ever. All the guys going out to warm up horses kept congratulating me... It felt amazing!"
Spitzig says she has been involved in racing her whole life.
“My dad [Rusty] has always had horses and back before harness racing was popular he was racing ponies in Sarnia and in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio,” she said. “As a young child I’d bring my colouring books to the track while my dad drove or looked after the horses we had racing that night. I was 10 when I picked up my groom’s license just so I could actually be in the paddock with my dad.
“Dad has been my biggest influence, but I also look at trainer Casie Coleman and the success she has had in the business,” continued Spitzig. “Not only is she the top female trainer, but she’s a top trainer in a male dominated industry.”
Together with her dad, the Spitzigs look after 16 horses -- a mixture of racehorses, two-year-olds, yearlings, broodmares and retired horses.
“I have a two-year-old of my own that I’m getting ready for [Ontario Sires Stakes] action this year -- Casimir Ozzy a.k.a. 'Ozzy' -- and then I’m training two Dontgetinmyway two-year-olds to go back to Indiana for their sire stakes this summer,” she explained. “Some other ‘project’ horses I have are my two three-year-olds and my old trotter Twin B Rawley. I’m hoping to have those three qualified by mid-April.”
(With files from Western Fair District)