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Crotchett To Make Race Riding Debut At Oaklawn After Galloping For Lukas, Catalano

Kaylee Crotchett, an exercise rider at Oaklawn for Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, said Sunday morning that she plans to make her riding debut early in the 2021 meeting that is scheduled to begin Jan. 22.

Crotchett, 22, was raised in Henryville, Ind., about 25 miles north of Churchill Downs, and has been galloping horses for approximately 5 ½ years.

“I'm really excited right now,” Crotchett said. “I'm sure the day of the race, my adrenaline will get to me, my nerves, but this is something I've worked so hard for.”

Crotchett said her first scheduled mount is Mr. Peterkin, a 3-year-old Ghostzapper colt who is winless in six career starts for Lukas. Mr. Peterkin, under Crotchett, worked a half-mile in :53.20 over a fast track Sunday morning in advance of his 2021 debut.

Crotchett said she grew up trail riding and began galloping horses at 16, initially working at a small training center in Indiana before moving to Churchill Downs to work as an exercise rider for trainer Buff Bradley. She spent approximately a year as an exercise rider for Lukas before going to work as an exercise rider for trainer Wayne Catalano early in the 2020 Oaklawn meeting. Crotchett said she reunited with Lukas in September at Churchill Downs.

“Kaylee's ready to ride,” Lukas said Sunday morning. “For two years now, I've been working on the gate with her and she's getting away real well. She's (100) pounds. That helps. She sits a horse beautifully. Again, it will get down to those girls that are light like that, finishing. I told her to get on that mechanical exerciser and get that finish, get strong. I'm going to put her on a couple and I expect her to do well.”

Crotchett said she had hoped to make her riding debut last year, specifically in early May at the end of Oaklawn meeting, but racing's uncertain landscape because of COVID-19 contributed to delaying her debut.

“Things have just been tough with the pandemic and everything, so I just took a step back,” Crotchett said. “I came back and worked for Wayne, and he said he was going to help me. I just kind of sat still and came back here. Hopefully, things will get going and I'll have a good meet.”

Crotchett said she will not have an agent to begin her riding career.

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New COVID-19 Prevention Guidelines Released By Kentucky Department of Agriculture

As Central Kentucky Thoroughbred farms prepare to open their breeding sheds, the positivity rate for COVID-19 in the state is approaching 12 percent. The Kentucky Department of Agriculture released new health and safety guidelines for the Kentucky equine industry this week to help limit the spread of the virus.

Among the department's recommendations are the opening of barns to improve ventilation, limit the transfer of printed paperwork, and allow veterinary assistants to hold horses whenever possible to avoid unnecessary mingling with mobile veterinary workers and farm staffs at multiple properties.

For breeding shed runs, the department suggests having shed personnel take mares from van drivers or farm employees at the trailer and return them after cover to avoid extra people in the stallion farm or shed.

See the complete set of guidelines:

The guidelines suggest precautionary measures such as no physical contact between workers, electronic paper work only, frequent disinfecting of equipment/surfaces, allowing maximum airflow in barns by keeping doors and windows open, etc.

And for Kentucky Stallion/Breeding Operations: pic.twitter.com/3GOptk5FbF

— Ky Equine Ed Project (@horseswork) January 7, 2021

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‘My Freedom Only Really Came When I Asked For Help’: Da Silva Opens Up About Addiction In New Book

Former jockey Eurico Rosa da Silva has just released his new book entitled Riding For Freedom. The book follows his journey from a young boy with a big dream in a poor country to a seven-time recipient of Canada's outstanding jockey award, according to Canadian Thoroughbred. The crux of the book, however, lies in the inner demons that he battled along the way.

“When the opportunity came, I left,” da Silva said in an interview with Peter Gross on his podcast, Down The Stretch. “When I started riding in São Paulo, I was very lucky. I started winning a lot of races right away, making a lot of money. I started in Canada and I was successful. My freedom only really came when I asked for help.”

Da Silva retired from his career as a professional jockey a year ago to help athletes with their mental performance. The 45-year-old husband and father of two children now strives to help people with problems similar to his own. He opened up in his interview with Gross about his addictions and how he insisted that the book include them.

“I was a chronic sex addict and a chronic gambler, and I am not afraid to say that,” da Silva said to Gross. “My goal with my book is to motivate people to go for help.”

Once A Trainer, Always A Trainer: Contessa Returning As Private Conditioner For Bell Gable Stable

Gary Contessa, who had announced the closure of his public stable earlier this year, announced this week he will return to training in a private capacity for Nick and Delora Beaver's Bell Gable Stable. Contessa will aid in building the racing operation in addition to training the horses, and said he will continue to represent multiple clients as a buyer's agent at public auction.

Bell Gable is a small racing and breeding operation based near Delaware Park and runs horses primarily in the Mid-Atlantic.

Contessa said he believes training privately will eliminate a lot of the difficulties that prompted him to leave the racing business earlier this year.

“The effort you have to put forth in a public stable can be overwhelming and incredibly time-consuming,” Contessa said. “In agreeing to work privately for Bell Gable I am going to be paid a salary and work with Nick and Delora Beaver to promote Bell Gable and help mold it into a top stable and promote the brand. In exchange Bell Gable gets a trainer, partner, director, bloodstock agent and friend. I will have to report to just them and have the opportunity to share their vision.”

As Contessa's public stable grew smaller in recent years, he said the financial investment no longer made sense, particularly given the cumbersome and expensive requirements of the U.S. Department of Labor for time-keeping and record-keeping. Contessa's stable was one of several New York operations audited by the federal government.

As of his retirement announcement in March, Contessa had saddled runners in 18,142 races with 2,363 wins. His top runners included Grade 1 winners Sippican Harbor and Do It With Style, Kentucky Derby runner Uncle Sigh, and multiple graded stakes winners Rite Moment, Mission Approved, and True Affair.

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