Leading up to the National Caretaker Appreciation Day event later this month, Standardbred Canada will be profiling caretakers from across the country in our Faces of Racing series.
A bike ride and a sense of curiosity at the impressionable age of 12 are what initiated an introduction to the harness racing industry for Ben Hollingsworth. “I stopped by Truro Raceway on my bike when I was about 12 years old. I didn’t know the difference between a mare and stud. I have no family in the business. I walked into Phil and Dale Pinkney’s barn to look at the horses. They put me to work, the rest is history.”
Fourteen years later, Hollingworth, now 26 years of age and a resident of Rockwood, Ont., finds himself fully immersed in the industry, grooming for some of the top racing stables in North America. He got his trainer’s license in 2009 and driver’s license in 2010. Currently the Nova Scotia native is working for Casie Coleman and is based in New Jersey with a small string of horses racing in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York.
A lot has transpired since that first visit to Truro. While Ben was in University, he always went away for the summer. “For two summers I travelled with the Harness Horse Youth Foundation, as their summer intern. Through the HHYF I met Frank Antonacci, I ended up going to work for the Antonacci’s Lindy Farm in Connecticut one summer. Frank sent me to Ontario with a trotting colt I looked after. I loved it so I decided when I was finished university I wanted to give it a try so I moved to Ontario from Nova Scotia the day after I graduated.”
Ben’s typical day at the barn, where he arrives around 5:30 a.m., includes turning out the horses while he does stalls, buckets and tubs. “Once all my stalls are done and they come in from the paddock it’s time to start jogging and training. Once the jogging and training is done it’s time to put them away. Then it’s time to clean up the barn, set feeds out and top off waters. I’m never in a rush to get out of there. When I’m done I’m done. The horses needs come first.”
He’s been fortunate enough to work with many top horsemen that have influenced him in his work. “People that do well year after year, to me, are the people you have to admire and look up to. This is a tough industry with so many highs, lows and unknowns. So I look up to anyone that has had longevity. These are the kind of people you can really learn something from just by watching and talking to them. As for specific people, Phil and Dale Pinkney have been huge influences on me. I wouldn’t be where I am without them. They taught me how to do things right, to take pride in your work, your barn and your horses and how they look.”
Ben’s favourite race memory was the 2006 Exhibition Cup Invitational at Truro Raceway, when Dunachton Gale set the track record with Phil Pinkney driving. “Gale will always have a place in my heart. He was the horse that got me hooked on racing. Knowing he would give 110 percent every time made it fun. Mcwicked is another one of my favourites. I haven’t looked after him for long but I’ve had him in New Jersey for his wins in the Ben Franklin at Pocono and the William Haughton at the Meadowlands. He’s by far the best horse I’ve worked around. He’s got a bad reputation for being loud, but he’s so smart it’s crazy. He knows when to tone it down and he’s got an awesome personality. I love that he loves attention. You can go in the stall and play with him and he’ll play back, sometime roughly, but that’s okay!”
Although Ben has traveled to and competed at many of North America’s premiere racing facilities, Inverness Raceway is still one of his favourite tracks. “I haven’t been there in three or four years but Inverness has always been one of my favourites. It’s the definition of grassroots racing. Everyone does it for fun, there’s not much money to be made, but the people are fantastic and racing is fun there. No business, all fun.”
At the end of the day, there is nowhere Ben would rather be, than in the world of harness racing. He finds it challenging and rewarding. “I love racing horses. It’s fun. When I go to the track to race it’s more of a social event then work. Almost all my friends work in the industry so when I go to race, I can socialize and laugh. I have more fun in the paddock than anywhere else in the world!
“Nothing is better then seeing a horse you cared for go on and do well, whether it is for you or not. To know you have had a small part of that horse’s success is very rewarding.”
Standardbred Canada along with the horsemen’s associations and tracks across the country will partner on National Caretaker Appreciation Day the weekend of July 20-22 at racetracks across the country.
(Photos: Sarah Lauren Scott (Faces of Racing); Heather Young (Voracity & Ben Hollingsworth); Norm Files (Molson Pace))