Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: Commitment To Learning Paying Off For Upstart Trainer Lindsay Schultz

Connecticut native Lindsay Schultz wasn't exactly sure what her future held when she arrived in Louisville, Ky., as a college student. Enrolled in the Equine Industry Program at the University of Louisville, Schultz knew only that she liked horses. Aside from that, she was willing to be open to where the experience would take her.

On Jan. 8, 2022, just over three months after taking out her training license and just over a decade after her graduation from UofL, Schultz found herself exactly where she wanted to be: the winner's circle at Oaklawn Park.

“It was a pretty neat experience,” said Schultz, who saddled her first winner, an 8-year-old Scat Daddy gelding named Capture the Glory, to victory in a one-mile claiming race at the Arkansas track. “He went to the lead and beat the rest of the horses easily. It was great to see. It's nice when horses show you in the afternoon what they show you in the morning.”

Schultz's road to the training ranks has been an indirect, if educational one that began its realization back in Louisville, when she found herself gravitating towards the study and the business of racing. A lifelong horsewoman who had grown up competing hunter/jumpers and eventers, the breadth of opportunities available to young professionals looking to make a start in the industry appealed to Schultz off the bat.

“When I was at Louisville and we went to the Breeders' Cup that first year, I saw that this was an industry where I could have a career,” Schultz said. “I started prepping yearlings at Lane's End, and then I walked for Nick Zito in Saratoga. After I'd worked for Nick I had already been on the backside and I was more comfortable, so I began working before classes while I was still in school helping out his stable.”

Determined to expand her industry experience after graduation, Schultz took her business degree and her passion for racing to the barn of Tom Proctor. She would work for the Breeders' Cup winner only a handful of months in Saratoga before she was selected for the prestigious Darley Flying Start management training program.

For two years Schultz traveled the world with Darley. But when all roads led back home, Schultz returned to Proctor when he called and offered her a job.

“Tom called me when I was finishing and offered me a job. I came and worked for him as an office manager, foreman, and traveling assistant,” said Schultz. “I got my assistant trainer's license quickly so I got to go with some of the stakes horses and saddle them in their races, so that was fun. After a couple of years I had my own string at Arlington, then I was at Fair Hill Training Center for a couple years. It was about that time that Tom and I started talking about me going out on my own.”

But despite her serious mind to start her own string, the industry had other plans. Glen Hill Farm's Craig Bernick, a client of Proctor's, approached Schultz and asked her to move to Ocala, Fla. to manage his farm.

“That wasn't something I had had on my radar, but it was a relationship that I wanted to keep,” said Schultz. “It was a really good job and opportunity so I went. I was down there for about three years.

“It was a lot of breaking and pre-training as well as managing a 250-acre farm. We also set up the sales consignment while I was there, which was neat. We sold some really nice mares that way. But I wanted to get back to the track.”

Schultz's timing proved to be opportune. In the fall of 2020, trainer Shug McGaughey was looking for a new assistant, and Schultz fit the bill. She would spend almost a year with the Hall of Famer before the opportunity to start training on her own finally came back around.

That opportunity came in the form of Ten Strike Racing founding partner, Marshall Gramm. It was a contact Schultz had made and fostered through her former UofL roommate and good friend, Liz Crow.

In addition to being a partner in both the BSW/Crow Bloodstock and ELiTE Sales—both top-tier operations in the Thoroughbred industry—Crow also serves as the racing manager for Ten Strike Racing.

“When Liz went out on her own, Marshall Gramm was someone who really helped her do that, and Liz had introduced me to him maybe 6 years ago when I was at Fair Hill,” said Schultz. “At the time, Tom Proctor told me, 'If you want to train one or two horses by yourself while you're still working for me, feel free.' And Marshall had a horse he wanted to send to me.

“After leaving Tom I kept in touch with Marshall. He was nice enough to let me know that when I wanted to go out on my own that he had horses he wanted to send to me and that he wanted to help me get my start. That was my push to start.”

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In addition to Ten Strike, who remains Schultz's primary owner, the budding trainer also runs horses for Allen Schubert and Scott Galloway, clients she met by way of her connection to Proctor.

With Oaklawn Park her base for the duration of the meet, Schultz now has eight horses in her barn including Capture the Glory, who races in the Ten Strike Racing colors.

“Capture the Glory was pretty neat, because the trainer I claimed him from, Will Gallagher, has been a friend since I claimed the horse,” said Schultz. “He's been great and he's helped me out at Churchill Downs and he called me after the horse won to congratulate me, which was so nice. The horse is so sound and he loves to train. He's 8-year-old by Scat Daddy, so it's neat to just have one of those in the barn.”

With her barn still in flux and plenty of time left in the year to make decisions, Schultz is happy to call Oaklawn home for the moment. Her forward-looking plans lie ahead with the 2-year-old sales, where she hopes to source new talent and new clients, building her stable and her business with equal conviction.

“Scott, Allen, and I tried in November to buy a couple horses of racing age and got outbid,” said Schultz. “I also tried this past January to get another one as well, but I was also outbid. So I will go to the 2-year-old sales to shop for them. Liz and I did put together a little syndicate to buy a Midnight Storm yearling in September and Liz picked her out so she will be my first official 2-year-old. That is something that's really fun to look forward to.

“I'll have to see where the best opportunities are for racing this summer. I love being in Kentucky, but I've also been on the East Coast as an assistant so I will see how it goes and then decide.”

As the latest leg of her journey builds on its opening success, Schultz credits much of her success to her friends and colleagues, who act as both support structure and cheerleading squad. But she finds her greatest lesson to be the one she brought with her to the equine industry program at UofL; remain open to the experience and to the people who can teach you all the lessons you need to know.

“I didn't grow up in this industry so I really did try to immerse myself in every aspect of this as much as I could,” said Schultz. “I think a lot of it is learning to pay attention to what the people around you are doing, and how the people you respect especially do things. You have to try and learn from everyone that you think is doing a good job. A lot of it is common sense and keeping it simple, but you have to learn from everyone around you, all the time.”

Capture the Glory winning at Oaklawn for trainer Lindsay Schultz

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EIP Graduate Lindsay Schultz Hoping To Launch Her Training Career At Oaklawn

Roughly 20 months after Reeve McGaughey recorded his first career training victory at Oaklawn, another former assistant under Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey will try to do the same during the 2021-2022 meeting that began Friday.

Lindsay Schultz, 33, has the resume to find the winner's circle.

Schultz grew up riding hunter/jumpers in Connecticut and “fell into horse racing straight away” attending the University of Louisville's Equine Industry Program with future trainers Jason Barkley, Will VanMeter and Bentley Combs. Schultz's college roommate is another EIP graduate, Liz Crow, now a noted bloodstock agent, sales consignor and racing manager. Crow is also Schultz's closest friend.

“She had a 4.0 GPA and was way smarter than I was,” Crow said Thursday afternoon. “I think she's always wanted to train, but she's kind of taken the route of wanting to learn everything before she went out on her own. I guess it's not too late to go out on your own at 33. I feel like some people dive into it a little earlier, I guess.”

After graduating from Louisville in 2010, Schultz traveled the equine world through a two-year internship in Darley's Flying Start management training program, cut her teeth as a longtime assistant under Breeders' Cup-winning trainer Tom Proctor and managed famed Glen Hill Farm in Florida before going to work for McGaughey – Reeve McGaughey's father – in the fall of 2020.

Schultz decided earlier this year to go out on her own and landed at Oaklawn, where she has seven horses, including six for the ubiquitous Ten Strike Racing of founding partners Marshall Gramm and Arkansas native Clay Sanders. Ten Strike considers Oaklawn its home track.

“It's a new place for me, but, look, I've been here for three or four days and everyone's been so nice,” Schultz said after training hours last Saturday morning. “It seems pretty horse friendly. Definitely not without nerves, but I'm excited.”

Schultz has two scheduled starters Saturday at Oaklawn – Pepper Pike in the fifth race and Capture the Glory in the sixth race. Both horses are owned by Ten Strike, which, solely or in partnership, won 10 races last season at Oaklawn and campaigns millionaire multiple Grade 3 winner Warrior's Charge.

Schultz had a brief business relationship with Ten Strike in late 2017, but considers Capture the Glory her first true starter after the Scat Daddy gelding ran in a starter-allowance sprint Nov. 12 at Churchill Downs. Ten Strike offers fractional ownership from lower-level claimers like Capture the Glory to graded-stakes types like Warrior's Charge. Schultz met Gramm and Sanders through Crow, who is Ten Strike's racing manager.

“Marshall gave her the chance when she went out on her own, to help them,” Schultz said. “Marshall always said, 'Let me know when you're thinking about going out on your own.' He actually called me this summer and said, 'Well, are you going to do it? Are you not going to do it? What's going on?' I said if you can help me, let's do it.”

Schultz, on behalf of Ten Strike, began building her stable this fall through claims, taking Pepper Pike for $32,000 Oct. 14 at Keeneland and Capture the Glory for $10,000 Oct. 17 at Keeneland.

Asked her biggest takeaway learning the ropes under accomplished trainers like John Shirreffs during the Flying Start program, then Proctor and, ultimately, McGaughey, Schultz said: “Keeping it simple.”

“And trust your instincts,” Schultz said. “Tom would always say that to me.”

Schultz, who also walked hots for Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito at Saratoga while attending Louisville, is among five Oaklawn-based trainers with horses on the grounds for Ten Strike. The others are 2020 Eclipse Award winner Brad Cox, Barkley, Combs and Randy Matthews. While Crow bleeds purple and black – Ten Strike's stable colors – it's personal with Schultz. She was maid of honor in Crow's wedding and is godmother to Crow's 9-month-old daughter, Ella.

“Obviously, there's a little bit more,” Crow said. “She's like family. I'm definitely rooting for her. It's really exciting that she's getting started with Ten Strike because they're such a good ownership group. They've helped so many young people get started. That's kind of what they enjoy doing. They helped me get started, so it's kind of cool that they're helping her as well.”

After working under his father, Reeve McGaughey saddled his first career winner March 19, 2020, at Oaklawn. VanMeter, now retired from training, saddled his first career winner at the 2014 Oaklawn meeting.

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Noble Drama, Caribou Club Make Victorious Returns At Gulfstream

Harold Queen's Noble Drama made a triumphant return from a four-month layoff, closing from last to eke out a victory in Saturday's $60,000 The Name's Jimmy Handicap at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

Out of a half-sister to 2010 Eclipse Award-winning sprinter Big Drama and full sister to multiple Grade 1 winner Sheer Drama, Noble Drama showed his class while rallying off a pedestrian early pace to prevail by a nose over Glory of Florida in the mile overnight handicap for 3-year-olds and up.

“He gives you 150 percent every time,” said trainer David Fawkes, who conditioned Big Drama and Sheer Drama, both Queen homebreds.

Unraced since finishing second in the Jan. 16 Sunshine Classic at Gulfstream, the homebred 6-year-old gelding dropped back to trail the six-horse field as Pro Quality showed the way during a first quarter of a mile in 24.59 seconds on his way to half-mile in 47.85. Emisael Jaramillo asked Noble Drama for some run leaving the backstretch and the son of Gone Astray responded with a four-wide rally to enter contention at the top of the stretch. The Florida-bred veteran kicked in through the stretch to narrowly prevail over a rail-rallying Glory of Florida.

“Emisael said it took him a little time to get him moving, but where he was sitting going into the turn, I was comfortable, although he did have to go four wide,” Fawkes said. “I wasn't so comfortable right there [at the finish line].”

Noble Drama, the 6-5 favorite who carried highweight of 122 pounds, ran a mile in 1:36.39 to claim his sixth career stakes victory and boost is career bankroll over $700,000.

“Look at the weight he's gained. We gave him three months off, brought him in and breezed him four times, and he won,” Fawkes said. “He's such a neat horse.”

Glory of Florida, who was ridden by Samy Camacho, finished a neck in front of pacesetter Pro Quality and jockey Miguel Vasquez.

Caribou Club Returns a Winner in Sunny Isles
Glen Hill Farm's Caribou Club, coming off a year layoff, drove to the lead down the stretch to win Saturday's $60,000 Sunny Isles over Harry's Ontheloose. Tiger Blood was third.

Winner of the 2019 Baltimore-Washington International Turf (G3) in 2019, Caribou Club, a 7-year-old gelding by City Zip trained by Thomas Proctor and ridden by Edwin Gonzalez, covered a firm five-furlong turf course in :55.01.

Caribou Club, who raced only three times in 2020, has now won 10 of 26 starts on the turf.

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