Fisher to Saddle First Starter Sept. 7 at Spa

Carol Fisher, a former assistant to trainer Tony Dutrow, will make her training debut Sept. 7 in the fifth race at Saratoga Race Course. 

 

Fisher's has a three-horse stable in Barn 33 at the upstate New York track. Her first starter will be Days Ride in the 1 1/8-mile event for $20,000 claimers. A 7-year-old Strong Contender   gelding, Days Ride is owned by Michael Dubb and Bethlehem Stables. He will be ridden by Javier Castellano, the meet's leading rider by purse earnings.

 

"I knew I always wanted to train," said Fisher, 32. "Even when I was younger and galloping horses, being a jockey never really interested me. It was always the training part. Going in there and working with the horses every day, figuring out what they like, how to keep them happy and sound—that is the part that always interested me."

 

Fisher took out her trainer's license this summer after 16 years of working as an exercise rider and assistant trainer. While the path to beginning her own stable has had its ups and downs, Fisher's determination and racing experience give her confidence that her horses will land in the winner's circle soon.

 

Growing up in the horse country around Fair Hill, Md., Fisher said she was interested in horses from a young age.

 

"My family would be driving to church on Sunday and I would see girls riding their horses around the show ring. I used to get so envious," she said. "One day I just walked to one of the local farms and asked for a job in exchange for riding lessons. I was actually homeschooled from seventh grade on through high school, which was pretty cool because I could go ride horses in the morning then go home and do my school work in the afternoon. I didn't really have an interest in anything else but horses."

 

The passion she had for horses soon turned into a career, when her riding instructor introduced Fisher to the world of Thoroughbred racing. When she was 16, she began galloping steeplechase and flat horses for trainer Ricky Hendriks and next broke and galloped babies for Mickey Pregger Jr. in Camden, S.C. She then turned her focus to the racetrack. Fisher traveled to Parx Racing, then known as Philadelphia Park, and began working for trainers Steve Krebs and Tony Dutrow.

 

She vividly remembered the phone call when Dutrow asked her to be his assistant and take a string of horses to Belmont Park. She said yes even before Dutrow finished asking her the question.

 

For the next eight years as Dutrow's assistant, Fisher worked with 2011 Horse of the Year Havre de Grace and grade I winners Grace Hall and The Big Beast.

 

"Tony taught me a lot about horsemanship," she said. "He's a very good horseperson. Tony always had the best around him and he taught me the same. He taught me that it is really important to do things as a team, be the best you can be, and keep in good company."

 

Said Dutrow: "It was time for Carol to move out and be on her own. If she hadn't done it now, I would have made her do it. Her strongest suit right now is her horsemanship. She's a very, very good horseman."

 

Part of that may come from the fact Fisher is one of a handful of trainers who gets on their own horses; in her case, the 5-year-old mare Defoe Street (Street Sense  ), whom she claimed for $40,000 Aug. 12 for Aron Yagoda, and 3-year-old maiden New York-bred Threes Are Wild (Rockport Harbor), in addition to Days Ride.

 

"There is a lot you can feel but can't see and vice versa," she said. "Being able to get on their back and feel their energy and their mood is a big part of why I like riding my own. I really want to individualize each horse. I want to have a training program, but be able to customize it to each horse. I want an owner to be able to send me a horse and know I will do a good job with it, regardless of whether the horse likes to run short or long, on the dirt or on the turf. I want to know each horse like the back of my hand and learn what makes them happy."

 

Fisher said that it has not been easy setting up her own stable. It was particularly hard because she has no family in the business. Every step she has taken has been on her own, and making it to Saratoga has been a major achievement in itself.

 

"I have three horses right now, which I am lucky to have here in Saratoga," she said. "I am very grateful that the New York Racing Association gave me three stalls. That's hard to get up here. I have a couple of really good owners who have been really supportive and have helped me. Hopefully when I get back to Belmont, I'll get some babies in and claim some more horses."

 

After Days Ride runs Monday, Fisher plans on staying in New York and running her horses at Belmont this fall. She knows the competition is tough, but that doesn't intimidate her.

 

"I feel like there is so much pressure on me to do a good job," she said. "I have so many supportive friends and fellow trainers that expect me to do well. I'm very grateful for my owners: Aron Yagoda, Michael Dubb, Stuart Grant, and Michael Caruso. They are great guys and when I win a race for them, I will be ecstatic. It will make me very happy to do well for them."

 

For Fisher, winning her first race will be the pinnacle of all her years of hard work.

 

"It is safe to say it will be the happiest day of my life," she said.