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![What an amazing morning at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains. You could hear the horse running but couldn't see them.]()
Pea Soup
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![Normally these headlamps are just precautionary, but this day they were almost essential equipment.]()
Shining The Light
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![The one lone spotlight acted as a pale sun for the entrance and exit from the stables to the track.]()
Returning on the Rail
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![There's nothing more iconic than a a man riding a horse wearing a cowboy hat.]()
At Home
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![Ce Ce would go on to win The Breeders Cup race she was entered in on Saturday, November 6th.]()
Ce Ce One Week Before the Cup
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![Corniche would go on to win his Breeders Cup Race one week later on November 5th 2021, at Del Mar racetrack.]()
Corniche One Week Before the Cup
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![Smooth Like Straight getting in some practice one week before the 2021 Breeders Cup]()
Smooth Like Straight
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![Around 7:30am the horses leave the dirt surface and go to the turf surface to practice while the tractors groom the soil for the rest of the morning workout session.]()
Intermission
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![A smiling rider, a smiling horse, everybody's happy.]()
Everybody's Happy
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![While the training they put the horses through is serious business, the trainers always seem to have time to relax and enjoy the fact that they get to do this for a living.]()
Horse Life
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![Companion horses are a big part of the training for race horses. It is a frequent sight on the track to see 2 horses side by side going around the track.]()
Steady On
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![I believe this was his "mean face".]()
Game Face
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![Some of the trainers are very serious people, while others want to look like they're serious...]()
Not Gonna Smile
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![Getting to ride horses each morning shows through on the faces of the trainers.]()
Peaceful
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![I'm not sure if this was for me, but it was funny all the same.]()
Raspberry
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![There is a rhythm to the track when training race horses. The inside lane is for sprinting and trotting and goes counter-clockwise, just like the races themselves, while the outer lane is the return lane going the opposite direction.]()
Return Lane
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![Horses are incredibly willful and stubborn creatures, and sometimes they take a little more convincing to go where you want them to. The horse actually did fully rear up but what impressed me most was the trainer stuck with him like glue.]()
Fierce
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![The Spanish word for Cowboy, this image struck me as both peaceful, yet powerful.]()
Vaquero
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![There are a number of women riders on the track each morning, and they take their jobs as seriously as the men...and occasionally I can make one smile.]()
Lady Rider
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![Edgeway one week before the 2021 Breeders Cup.]()
Edgeway
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![Eight Rings one week before the 2021 Breeders Cup.]()
Eight Rings
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![Gamine, one week before the 2021 Breeders Cup. His trainer is giving the Sitting Bull pose, classic.]()
Gamine Posing
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![Gamine, one week before the 2021 Breeders Cup.]()
Gamine Trot
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![Private Mission, one week before the 2021 Breeders Cup.]()
Private Mission
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![Edgeway on display for the press and TV cameras, one week before the 2021 Breeders Cup.]()
Edgeway Walk
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![Dr Schivel, one week before the 2021 Breeders Cup.]()
Dr Schivel
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![Dr Schivel, putting on an impressive display for the fans and press, one week before the 2021 Breeders Cup.]()
Dr Schivel Gallop
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![Getting the horses from the stable and taking them out for their morning workouts happens between 5 and 10am on a typical schedule.]()
Out For Morning Laps
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![Famous French jockey.]()
Brice Blanc
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![Clocker's Corner is a place where both fans and horse professionals can sit and have some free coffee and talk over the mornings times and practices.]()
Coffee Break
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![Ron McAnally, famed trainer for the legendary horse John Henry, and 3 time winner of the Arlington Million Stakes.]()
Legend at Dawn
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![Training takes place after it's designed by the head trainer for each horse. Then the training jockeys take the animals out, communicating by 2 way radios sometimes with the trainers who watch the sessions from the fence-line or the grandstand.]()
Debriefing
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![I believe this is the owners granddaughter. It is common for horse businesses to be passed on to other family members and for them to take over.]()
Family Business
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![The TVG reporter wants information. The jockey won't give the game away, but will stick to the script. If he doesn't he and the owner will have a chat.]()
Talking Points
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![This is an expression I have come to find the more I hang around the track and the trainers. They really do love what they do.]()
Joy
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![Part of track life is well, living in and around the track. Can't keep the dog waiting.]()
Man's Best Friend
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![First race of the day was on the turf.]()
First Race
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![If you look closely you'll see there are actually 2 horses at the finishing line.]()
Close Finish
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![Santa Anita has a unique turf course which begins on the hill above the main track, then descends the hill to the finish. The downward forces can be difficult for the horses to adapt to.]()
Hillside Start
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![The track officials must be able to view the course during the races at all times, so there are towers in strategic locations to accomplish this. There is a separate front and back side official.]()
Crows Nest
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![Coming down still from their hilltop starting gate, they now approach the final stretch and flat ground.]()
Run Down The Hill
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![The gate is mobile and must be aligned properly before each race begins. One man steers the back wheels as the tractor backs it up. On turf assistants must place large metal plates down for the wheels to roll on, so the grass isn't damaged.]()
Placing the Gate
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![One of the most dramatic and hallmark moments in sports is the starting gate. Horses have to be trained to be in them as this tight fit can cause the horse to panic like happened in the 2021 Breeders Cup Nov 5th for the final race.]()
And They're Off
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![Horse races take place on either dirt or grass surfaces call turf. Horses generally specialize on one surface, but trainers will try a horse on turf if they don't seem to do well on dirt.]()
Turf Race
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![This moment is critical to be done right, as the horses are not going to stop until the end of the race. A gate left in place would be a disaster, so they have a backup tractor just in case the primary fails.]()
Removing the Gate
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![These men make sure the horses and the jockeys stay safe when being loaded into the starting gate. They wear body armor and helmets for this task to prevent getting injured.]()
Gate Keepers
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![Kevin is one of the gate keepers...I told him he looks like Michael McDonald of the Doobie Brothers.]()
Kevin
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![These men have a cool name, but their job is critical to the safety of the horses and jockeys. They are assigned to the race horses after leaving the Paddock area and all the way to the starting gate to help keep things under control.]()
Outriders
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![This woman lives in the room, just kidding, but she comes out and loves on the outrider horses as they wait for each race to begin or finish. The horses know she will give them attention, so they come to her door often which I witnessed over the day.]()
Heather, the Horse Gramma
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![The outriders have special relationships with their working horses. Each morning they bring bags of horse-friendly snacks such as carrots or apples and they feed them in between races.]()
Sharing Lunch
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![The last time I came here I missed this shot. I got it this time.]()
Taking a Break
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![Rudy told me he's been working at the track for 37 years. El Chappo, a former Bob Baffert racehorse has been with him the last 8 years. I found many of the staff have been here a very long time, and this speaks to the love for their jobs and the animals.]()
Rudy and El Chappo
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![The stable hands bring out the horses for each race to the Paddock area where they are prepped for their race.]()
Out From the Stables
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![This room houses stables that area viewable by the public before each race. Seeing horses prior to the race helps people judge whether they believe the horse will perform well in their race. My wife swears by this.]()
To the Paddock
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![Last race of the day was on the turf. There are generally 9-12 races per day with a varied amount of horses participating in each race. There is typically 20 minutes between each race.]()
Final Race
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![Steve, Jefe, is the foreman of the grounds crew who move the gates, stomp down the grass after the turf races, and move the railings to let horses in and out of the track sections. Steve also corrected Rudy, telling me Rudy had been there 38 years.]()
Steve Says Let's Go Home
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