Debby Baltas Aids Backstretch Workers After SLR Fire

Debby Baltas doesn't have time for paper. She has far too much to do, so her forearm is her notepad.

One scribble is a reminder to get a bed for a backstretch worker, another is the name of a groom who had a seizure and where he is hospitalized, and the others aren't so easy to read, but it's not for others to understand. Baltas knows exactly what every note means.

All day Dec. 8 at Del Mar, in the aftermath of the devastating fire that ripped through San Luis Rey Training Center Dec. 7, Baltas, owner/breeder Pamela Ziebarth, and handicapper Aaron Hesz handed out all kinds of items to the displaced backstretch workers—clothing, brooms, soap, water, pillows, inflatable mattresses, and more—while helpers like TVG broadcasters Britney Eurton, Simon Bray, and Scott Hazelton made runs to local stores to replenish supplies.

A lot of the people who care for horses on the backsides of California racetracks consider Baltas, trainer Richard Baltas' wife, to be family, and she feels the same. She's been serving food to them for about a decade, first when she operated the track kitchen at Hollywood Park and now at the kitchen on the backside at Santa Anita Park.

She's admittedly not a horse person. She's a people person, and her skills were on display as each worker came up. Each interaction was part discussion, part prying from Baltas to find out what the workers really needed.

One groom with a can of beer in his hand got some clothes, and he kept talking about how much he loved Baltas' food, but she kept cutting him off, because paramedics told her that the groom who had a seizure was dehydrated.

"You need to drink water," she said. "I know it's been tough, and one is OK, but you need to drink water."

Another worker came up, accepted several items, but expressed doubt the pants available would fit him, but Baltas provided reassurance.

"El stretchy. Esta bien." she said in Spanish, as she snapped the elastic waistband with a smile.

To put it frankly, hundreds of volunteers showed up at Del Mar Friday to help horses. Far less came to help people, but the human impact is significant and jarring. Some of the workers at San Luis Rey lost everything they owned in the Thursday blazes.

"When I walk into a barn, I don't see horses. I see people," Baltas said. "For my husband, he sees the horses. And I get it. That's his first love. I don't hold it against anybody who wants to come here to help horses. ... (But) right now these people are in shock. If just taking a shower makes them feel a little bit better—I just can't even imagine losing everything I have."

While Richard Baltas focused on his horses, he also made sure to acknowledge his wife's contribution. But he wasn't surprised. He's seen her look out for Southern California's backstretch workers for years.

"She's always been like that. She always looks out for the guys," the trainer said.