Friday Features Strange research
Guest shares
A Strange piece of research
from
Jockeying for You
C.D. Hersh asked me to tell them the strangest piece of research I had come across while writing JOCKEYING FOR YOU. If “strange” means “out of the ordinary,” then frankly, I found all my research strange. That’s because I knew nothing about the world of horseracing when I decided to write my newest book. Everything was out of the ordinary for me. (Perhaps writing a book on a topic where the writer starts out ignorant is strange onto itself!)
In order to educate myself, I read many books, and traveled to many places. Among my travels were Belmont Park, the Saratoga Race Course, the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, and the Oklahoma Training Track. Some of the “out of the ordinary” information I came across during these visits:
1. The Oklahoma Training Track, despite its name, is located within a mile of the Saratoga Race Course (Saratoga Springs, New York). This training track is called “Oklahoma” because horses stabled here are “far” enough away from the Saratoga Race Course stable hands jokingly gave it this name many years ago.
2. Derby hats are not just a fashion statement they are a necessity for the upper echelon of the horseracing world. Access to the higher level facilities in the track are very dress-code specific.
A woman with VIP status at the track, but who does not wear a derby hat or a fascination, must stay in the general public area. Hatless women will be banned from all VIP areas for failure to comply with the track’s dress code.
A woman who has VIP status, but who wears a fascination (not a hat per se, but a round disk with feathers, bows and/or ribbons on it), may enter only some of the restricted restaurants, lounges, etc., but not all.
A woman who has VIP status and wears an actual derby hat (covering the full head, with a brim) may access all VIP areas.
3. The “back of the house,” is a section of a racecourse closed to the public, where horses are stabled and the stable hands work and/or reside. This area (which I was lucky enough to tour) looks very similar to a barn.
4, Today’s racehorses are the decedents of only three sires, the Byerley Turk, the Darley Arabian and the Godolphon Arabian. (So yes, racehorses are all basically related to each other, even if their tie goes back many generations.)
5. Racehorses that are injured get spa time. Literally. The stable area in the “back of the house” will often have horse-size hot tubs thoroughbreds can walk into and relax.
All in all, I think all the nuances of horseracing that I’ve learned is fascinating more than “strange.” Writing this book opened a whole new world to me. And on this topic, I’d never horse around.
Thank you Stacy for taking us around the barn and track. LOL. Now how about a look at and brief reading her new book JOCKEYING FOR YOU:
Jake Carter is on a mission—to prove his family wrong. He may have bought a troubled horse, but he’s hired Ryder Hannon, a “horse whisperer,” to get his horse back on track. She’s more than just a trainer to him, she’s the woman he’s been looking for.
Ryder Hannon, a thoroughbred horse trainer, has a big problem—fighting her fear of racing again. Her emotional scars run deeper than her physical ones. But her romantic feelings towards handsome, uber-rich, stable owner Jake Carter is a bigger problem. Is Jake truly in love with her or is he using her to get back at his smug family?
When Jake’s jockey gets injured, he wants Ryder to race. He knows deep down she wants to live up to her family’s legacy. So why does she keep fighting him—and her destiny—so hard?
LINKS
Amazon buy link: http://amzn.to/2clOJK3
Amazon author’s page: https://www.amazon.com/Stacy-Hoff/e/B00NN0HCW8
Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorStacyHoff
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorStacyHoff
