We Are Horse Racing

11/10/2025

My name is Jimmy Walker and I support horse racing. I work for an OTTB aftercare program in Oklahoma. We work hand in hand with many of the best trainers and owners in racing to ensure the greatest care with the amazing horses who are ready for their second life after racing. Over the past 3 years, we have placed over 160 horses with amazing, loving people and have another 40 ready for adoption. We are the people OF HORSE RACING who work 7 days a week year-round caring for and LOVING these amazing horses. Every day I see my God looking at me through their eyes telling me THANK YOU for being here for them. THEM WHO LOVED WHAT THEY DID AND ARE EXCITED TO SEE WHAT’S NEXT.

08/26/2025

We were very sorry to hear that Margaret passed away recently. Life is short so hug our horses and kiss our friends!

My name is Margaret LaCross and I support horse racing!

My very first race on tv was the 1973 Kentucky Derby! I fell in love with Sham the first time I saw him! Of course we all know who won the Triple Crown! I love watching horse racing on TV. I attended the 2016 Kentucky Derby for the 1st time with a friend I had met on Facebook. Her name is Jayne Jones. It is ironic that Sham's great-great-grandson, Tom's Ready, ran in my 1st Derby! Jayne and I also attended the Secretariat Festival the same year. I got to meet Sham's jockey Laffit Pincay Jr, Ron Turcotte, Charlie Davis, Bill Mack, Otto Thorwarth,Jean Cruguet and Phil D'Andrea who wrote a book about Sham. Of course I visit Sham's grave at Walmac every time I visit Kentucky!

We also attended the 2017 Kentucky Derby and the 2018 Breeder's Cup. I loved seeing Talismanic and Enable in person! Together, we have toured Winstar, Coolmore, Gainesway, Taylor Made, Three Chimneys, Lanes End, Calumet, Spendthrift, Old Friends, Our Mims and the Kentucky Horse Park! We have seen many famous racehorses. We also went to the Ohio Derby to see Long Range Toddy in person and we were able to go to his barn after the race to pet him. What a thrill that was for me! We also go to Mountaineer for the West Virginia Derby every year. We went to the Secretariat Festival again this year and we were able ot to meet a lot of Facebook friends in person. I love the beautiful statue of Secretariat and I hope to visit Kentucky many more times!

06/12/2025

My name is Carol Sexton Uhland and I support horse racing!

I can say that my story is truly living my dream! The first time I ever learned anything about horse racing was when Secretariat won the Triple Crown. I was a little girl living in Mississippi at that time. I watched the Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes when he won and I have been hooked since all those years ago. The sight of Big Red on the cover of Sports Illustrated will always be etched in my memory. I have followed the Triple Crown races and horse racing in detail every year since 1973. One of my favorite years during that time was the great rivalry between Sunday Silence and Easy Goer. However, that's just one of so many!

My wish was to someday visit the horse country of Kentucky, but by far, my biggest dream was to be able to attend the Kentucky Derby. I grew up, went to college and became a teacher. I got married and had a son. My marriage ended in divorce, but I never lost interest in horse racing and the dream of going to Kentucky.

Fast forward to all these years later. I am now remarried and my wonderful husband just happened to be a huge horse racing fan just like myself. He took me to my first Kentucky Derby in 2017, the year we got married. That year Always Dreaming won. We went back in 2018 and saw Justify win the Derby. For our one year anniversary, he took me to the Belmont Stakes and we saw Justify win the Triple Crown. I was so in awe after American Pharoah won in 2015 and it never occurred to me that I would actually ever be in person to see anything like that ever unfold again. We began to visit the Lexington area every break we had from work and fell in love with the area. We always came twice a year to the Keeneland meets and would visit all the farms. My dream had finally become a reality of visiting Kentucky and going to the Derby and even seeing a Triple Crown winner. However, I now had a new dream of being able to move from Mississippi where I had lived all my life, to Kentucky and work in the horse industry in some capacity.

In 2019, that dream came true! My husband's job allowed him to transfer to Toyota Kentucky from Toyota Mississippi. It was unbelievable and here we are in Lexington! I retired from 28 years as a teacher! I am now a tour guide at Keeneland and also a tour guide at Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Farm. It is such a great experience to meet people from all over the United States and world in these positions. I also just finished up my first season of foal watching in May at Keene Ridge Farm. I have never had so much fun and learned so much about mares giving birth and the signs to look for. I will be even more equipped for next foaling season with all the knowledge I was able to gain.

I miss my family because they are all in Mississippi, but I have adjusted so well and have never been happier in my life. I can drive back to see them in 6.5 hours! Not bad at all! I never dreamed as a little girl I would one day be allowed to live and work in this great industry. I am pictured with my favorite little Street Boss filly born in February during my foal watching duties. My dreams have truly come true!

06/04/2025

Mr. Dewey O. Deason of Priceville, Alabama passed away January 1, 2025 at the age of 93. He was preceeded in death by his parents, Andrew and Cora Deason, and his wife, Marion Shaw Deason. He is survived by his three children, sons David and Doug Deason, and daughter, Denise McCrary, as well as his grandchildren Christopher, Danielle and Drake. He had four great grandchildren, David, Rosemary, Silas and Efrin.

Dewey was born in Bessemer Alabama October 12th 1931. He began a life long love of horses when he went to work and live with his Uncle and Aunt in the mid- 1940's. He rose from cleaning stables to training horses, and later as a jockey himself. He joined the Navy and served in the Atlantic during the Korean War. He was prevented from serving in the Pacific Theater, due to having a brother, Andrew, and step-brothers already deployed there. He sailed to Greenland, receiving a Navy certificate for crossing the Artic Circle.

Not long after his discharge, he met and married Marion Shaw and, soon after began growing their family. Dewey owned his own tv repair shop during the early 1960's. He later went to work with Hayes Aircraft in Birmingham, as a drawing checker and specification writer. That led to going to work for Boeing on the Apollo program at Kennedy Space Center.

The family loved living in Merrit Island, enjoying ample opportunities for fishing and the beaches. Marion and Dewey were famous for their Kentucky Derby parties. All three of his children graduated from Merritt Island High School. He later worked and retired from United Technologies Corp. (Pratt & Whitney and USBI) working on the Space Shuttle program, rising to Configuration Control Manager for the solid rocket boosters. He received numerous awards including a Silver Snoopy from NASA.

Dewey enjoyed life in the country with Marion and his three horses and numerous cats and dogs. Later, after losing Marion, he lived at The Terrace in Priceville, where he was beloved by both staff and residents.

He was a devoted husband and father, as well as a dedicated and accomplished person in whatever endevours he pursued. He will be greatly missed by his family and friends.

09/17/2024

09/14/2024

My name is Alexis Farris and I support horse racing. Though not actively working at the track with racehorses, that part of my life will forever be special to me. My daughter spent the first 3 years of her life growing up at Golden Gate Fields and Portland Meadows. I re-homed over 30 thoroughbreds. My heart stays in the racing community and I want to be a voice for how much we as trainers/groom/pony riders etc care for and love our horses. It’s not a hobby, it’s not just business, it’s family and it's a lifestyle.

Please enjoy my gratuitous shot of 2 year old filly and 3 year old human filly.

09/12/2024

My name is Stephen Romano and I support horse racing.

Another night and I can’t sleep. I received my second call this week about a dear friend of mine who died from Corona Virus 19. A few days ago, it was my friend George who was only 45 years old and yesterday it was Charles Festa, a longtime friend and horseman. He was an owner for almost 50 years. I have been posting on Facebook for almost a month about the need to take all necessary precautions just in case. Please have a generous supply of vitamins B12, C and D. They say it is very good for you to drink a lot of water or hot tea with lemon or perhaps garlic and honey mixed together. Have hot soup and Tylenol available. And please, rest as often as you are able to rest. If you feel sick the most important thing to do is don’t panic. Please relax. Engage with friends on Facebook. The most important thing I want everyone to continue to do is to stay home. My wife Gigi and I became ill but it looks like we’re are going to survive this cruel disease, however, my friends George and Charlie did not. They were kind caring people that did not deserve to die like this. And you know what’s even more heartbreaking about this? For the health and safety of others, people who die from this cruel virus are often cremated. To me, to exit this beautiful world that they loved like that is sad.

You all know I love horse racing as much as anyone. I’ve spent the past 50 years at the track day and night while most of you had normal lives. I didn’t go to my prom because I wanted to go to Roosevelt Raceway instead. I never went on spring break because being at the “Mecca“, (Aqueduct racetrack) to see the Wood Memorial was my spring break. I did not go to the Hampton’s or Jones Beach because the meets at Belmont Park and Saratoga Springs were my beach vacations. I did not attend Bible study because the only Bible study I knew was at the racetrack. So for me to say a few weeks ago that all racing should stop was huge; I saw what was coming for us. I urged New York Public schools to close a long time before our leaders did. I advocated for many things that could have been done much earlier but people didn’t listen. It took a long time for our New York City representatives to recommend that we all wear masks. And yet it’s still not mandatory. I am angry. We all need to take this seriously. Please each of you who reads this, do whatever you can to help stop the spread of Covid 19. The sooner we take precautionary action, the sooner our tracks will be open again for live racing.

Photo, l to r, is of trainer John Toscano, jockey Kendrick Carmouche and on the far right is my friend who died, Charles Festa.

09/12/2024

My name is Chrissie Tinnell and I support horse racing. I grew up in Louisville and it's my fave place to be,not up in the fancy stands, but backside at the barns. The backside is where you see so many people who take such pride in their horses. Where you see real dedication and hard work take the form of a thoroughbred that wants nothing more than to run and eat peppermints. Where you see people that aren't fancy but are there because they love the horses and they love what they do. It's their life and they wouldn't change it. These are the people I admire. The people who not only dedicate their time to these horses while they are in their care, but keep track of their friend long after its retired. The stories you hear, the excitement in their voices, the pride on their faces, the unmistakable nervousness when their horse runs, and the worry when the horse isn't doing what was expected. And I see the look on the horses. Ears up, completely focused. I'd swear they are as excited to run as we are to watch them. These magnificent creatures that are excellent at saying "Nope, I don't feel like racing today" or "get off my back!" on occasion. These magnificent creatures that are smarter than most people know. These creatures that are as strong and powerful as they are fragile. They deserve respect as much as the people who genuinely care for them, day in and day out. I choose to focus on the good. Not because I ignore the bad, I don't. But because I don't want this sport, the wonderful people involved in it or the horses to go unnoticed. I want them to know there are still people out there who appreciate them. And I want the good stuff to fuel a movement to help the horses that fall through the cracks. The ones who unfortunately end up in the wrong barn, by no choice of their own. I'm just a fan. But I'm 1 of millions that care.

08/11/2024

07/29/2024

My name is Karen Oman, I’m a Chromie and I support horse racing. My love of horse racing began when I was fortunate enough to watch California Chrome train at our local track, Los Alamitos. I made wonderful friends because of Chrome. Now Chrome is retired making baby Chromes in Kentucky. I’ve been able to visit him twice since he retired. I’m blessed that the friendships I made still endure. One of those friendships is with his trainer, Art Sherman. Several times a month, other Chromies and myself meet with him for coffee and donuts. We get to watch him train his new charges. He and his son Alan are dedicated and devoted to the well-being of the horses in their barn. They personally check out each horse after they work. They employ Raul Rodriguez, his wife Florentina, brother Oscar and others who take great pride in their work, often getting awards for “the best turned out” at the races. Art’s career spans many decades, has known amazing highs and lows, and he is dedicated to the good in horse racing, often working with rescue groups to find good homes for the horses in his care when they retire.

07/19/2024

My name is Melodie Holliday and I support horse racing. I've followed horse racing for at least 20 years. Watching thoroughbreds train and then race or watching them at play in a field, you know you are witnessing an athlete that loves to run and lives to run! I was lucky enough once to stand in the winner's circle with a group of honorary owners. We all gathered on the rail at the start of the race and felt the ground shake with the thunder of hooves as the gates opened and the dirt flew. Cheering wildly, we watched our filly, Mysticallie, work her way to the front of the pack and cross the wire in the lead. The exhilaration, the rush and the thrill of standing in the winner's circle with this magnificent creature is a memory I will always treasure.

Watching a thoroughbred flying in an all out run, the ripple of muscle, the graceful yet powerful rhythm of stride and extension are matched only by the look in their eyes. It is called "the look of eagles." That is the look I saw in the eyes of Mysticallie that day in the winner's circle. She knew she had won and she was as proud of her victory as we all were. Racing is in the blood of thoroughbreds and fans like me!


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