Profiles in Ambition: A Day at the Races!

Last Sunday I spent the day at one of the most exciting places I know- the racetrack! I was invited to join the de Klerk family of Yellow Star Stud here in Mooi River to travel to Durban to watch a few of their runners. We traveled to Clairwood Racecourse in Durban which is about a two hour drive from Mooi River. I made the drive with Ashley de Klerk, whom I met at the Summerhill RTR Sale last month, and her brother Pat.

I've been to the races before when I was younger with my Dad. He would take me to Kentucky every year on my spring break to tour the big stud farms and go to the races. Those memories are some of my most cherished childhood memories. I believe my love of horses and horse racing came largely from spending time around my Dad on those trips. My Dad also has a passion for horse racing and I'm so glad I am able to share that with him.

My experience at Clairwood here in South Africa was nothing like my experiences at the racetracks in Kentucky. The de Klerk family are not only breeders, but they also race some of their own horses. Most of the horses they race are horses that they weren't able to sell at the sales. On Sunday, Yellow Star had 7 horses running all through out the 10 races of the day. They ended up with three 5th place finishes and one 4th. Being with racehorse owners meant I was able to go into the parade ring before races, meet the jockeys, listen to the trainer instruct the jockeys on how to ride, sit in the Member's Dinning Room and get insider information on who to bet on! At the end of the day, I lost about 3USD, but I had a blast and got to see the inside of racing in South Africa!