Trainers are looking forward to returning to the track in Fort Erie, where there will be nine races and many family reunions.
Horse racing returns to Fort Erie on May 28, serving as both a family reunion and the season opener for the historic border oval.
Kevin Buttigieg, a horse trainer, couldn't think of a nicer location to live.
“It’s the only place I want to train at. I’ve been offered by a couple of owners that spend decent money to go to Woodbine and it’s just not my cup of tea. I grew up in Mississauga, borderline Oakville and I liked it as a kid but it’s just not for me. This kind of lifestyle is what I like to live,” stated Buttigieg.
Buttigieg began training horses more than two decades ago, and his first win came on September 16, 2002, with his first starter, Frank's Approval. The trainer has won several major races at the racecourse, including two Puss 'n Boots Cups. He also met his wife Sarah on the track. Sarah sat on the picnic bench outside their barn, reflecting on how serendipity is a natural measure of life's circumstances.
“If you are here enough, you find somebody,” noted Sarah. She grew up in the Niagara region and spent the late 1990s walking hots and grooming horses for David Schmidt and Kim Dobson before learning to gallop horses on the farm and later on the track.
“I ran my first horse ever for Dave Schmidt. Stop the Hammer was her name,” recalled Sarah, who is easy to spot on a race day.
The couple will have their hands full on Opening Day, as they have a horse in each of the two cup races, Ami's Girl in the Summer Solstice Cup and Follow Me Home in the Sprint Into Summer Cup, each for $30,000. Fort Erie begins the season with nine races, each of which has at least eight horses.
Kevin and Sarah are constantly on the move, whether it's getting horses ready for work, cleaning the shed, feeding, or tending to the fans installed above the horses' stalls to keep them cool. Sarah has remained cool on a few occasions by diving into the infield pond, as is customary while winning the Puss n Boots Cup.
“I’ve done it twice now. The first time was really gross, the water was really algae and murky, I hit the bottom, and it was mud. And this time it was a lot better, it felt cleaner, it looked cleaner, and it was refreshing – that day was hot,” remarked Sarah, who jumped in after securing last year’s Puss n Boots with Nikolaou, and nine years prior, after Catch the Luck won the race.
Racetrackers live a unique lifestyle marked by early starts and lengthy hours that contrasts sharply with the traditional 9-to-5 workday. Some people are drawn to the sport from a young age because they have family connections to it, while others are just drawn in.
"It's like a magnet or something," chuckled Sharon Ceccato, when asked why people kept returning to the Fort.