Administered, promoted and run by Standardbred Canada, along with help from racetracks and horsemen’s associations across the nation
and dozens of volunteers, Caretaker Appreciation Weekend has been a huge success these past few years. SC’s Kathy Wade Vlaar and Hailey Saunders have worked tirelessly on this project to help give all Canadian horsepeople the chance to show their gratitude to the often overlooked heroes from behind-the-scenes, who many will call “the lifeblood of our sport” - our racehorse grooms.
I know for a fact this weekend isn’t lost on our caretakers either. The gift bags and prize draws, the free refreshments in the paddock and complimentary win photos, as well as the general recognition of hearing their names in the post parade as well as in the winner’s circle, are all things that the people who work seven days a week caring for our equine athletes, truly appreciate.
Before we all pat ourselves on the back too much however, for giving our grooms this kind of recognition, one weekend each year, let’s think about it a bit more and try to put it into perspective.
I admit that things like the gift bags, prizes, and win photos, etc. are a nice added touch once a year, and I’m all in favour of continuing this fairly new tradition initiated by SC.
Free drinks though? Once a year? We’re taking a bunch of credit on that one when not that long ago many racetracks offered free coffee and soup to all trainers, drivers and caretakers - every racing night? Would it kill us to provide free coffee and soft drinks to anyone with a valid groom’s license on race nights? Maybe even extend that to a bowl of soup and some crackers from November through March?
How about announcing the name of the caretaker in the post parade? Why is that only done a few nights each year? Most will tell you that the caretaker is at least as important to the success of the horse as the trainer, driver or owner is, yet it’s the names of the latter that are always announced and rarely the former.
Ken Middleton announced all caretaker names in the post parades for all OSS Grassroot and Super Final races recently - it was a nice added touch that just took a wee bit of effort from Kenny and Karen Allen, as well as her people at Ontario Racing. It’s not rocket science.
So how about this? I suggest that from now on, all caretaker names belong in the program all of the time, and that we have all track announcers include them in every post parade. When you enter a horse you give the name of the trainer and the driver - is it that difficult to include the name of the caretaker upon entering? The answer is “No, it’s not.” Especially now that most are entering (or should be entering) online. If we simply add this to our programs, from that point on caretakers would get some much deserved recognition in the post parades and winner’s circles on a nightly basis.
We do TRULY appreciate our caretakers, right? We don’t just say it once a year to make everyone feel better and then ignore it again for the next 362 days, do we?
I know that there are some people out there who are probably only nice to others around Christmastime. I know that there are people that are only truly thankful on Thanksgiving. And yes, I do give my Mom a few bottles of wine and some flowers on Mother’s Day, but I also like to think that I treat her well, tell her I love her, and let her know that I truly appreciate what she does for our family, on most of the other 364 days of the year too.
Don’t get me wrong, I know that many of today’s trainers and owners treat caretakers much better than what’s been the case in the past. I also know that the wages of most caretakers are significantly higher than they were just 10 years ago or so, and that many trainers pay a year end bonus based on the stable’s earnings. This column does not come from simply a financial viewpoint. I don’t know the specifics of what many people make, and I don’t need to. I do know, however, that if we truly appreciate what our caretakers do for our horses, that we need to tell them, and show them, more than one weekend per year.
As far as the financial end of it, did you know that if a horse makes $100,000 in a year, and the groom received just 0.5% of that automatically, it would be a nice little $500 bonus at the end of the year?
Ok - forget I said that - that conversation is for another time!
Dan Fisher [email protected]