First Female Steward at the Spa Begins Monday

Beginning July 27 at Saratoga Race Course, Erinn Higgins will become the first female steward at the Saratoga Springs track, serving as alternate state steward for the New York State Gaming Commission under Steve Lewandowski.

 

Higgins, 27, comes to the New York Racing Association via Finger Lakes, where she began her stewarding career, and has previously served as a steward at Belmont Park, where she became the first female steward to serve in a NYRA stand.

 

The opportunity to work at Saratoga is not only a dream come true for Higgins, but a homecoming, as she was raised in the area.

 

"I'm excited. Saratoga is my hometown," Higgins said. "It will be a different experience, as far as the types of horses and races I'm accustomed to, and I'll be exposed to different things that come up. I'm looking forward to it."

 

Although she has only been a steward since 2013, Higgins' racetrack experience is vast. Her mother, an exercise rider, and her father, trainer Bill Higgins, met in Saratoga, and she grew up on the backstretch. Higgins has worked for the late Hall of Fame trainer, Allen Jerkens, and served as assistant to her father. She also worked for a veterinary practice for several summers.

 

Higgins' exposure to different aspects of the industry was instrumental in leading her to stewardship.

 

"I've always known I wanted to work in horse racing, but I wasn't sure in what capacity," Higgins said. "I knew I didn't want to train or work as a vet, so I wanted to explore things I wasn't as familiar with. An opening came up for an assistant steward at Finger Lakes, so I took a shot and applied. I fell in love with the job."



Following her first year at Finger Lakes, Higgins' path was cemented when she received her accreditation by completing the Racing Officials Accreditation Program at the University of Louisville. Last fall, she was asked to temporarily fill in at Belmont.

 

Higgins, who plans to return to Finger Lakes at the conclusion of the Saratoga meet, says she is humbled by the opportunity to work in her hometown, surrounded by family, for historic Saratoga's 147th meet.



"It's all happened so quickly," she said. "I am so fortunate things have worked out as they have."