Horse Careers: Racehorse Trainer
Jordan Blair
Racehorse Trainer
Horse trainer Jordan Blair, of Lexington, prepares and conditions Thoroughbred horses for their racing careers.
His day starts around 4:30 a.m., arriving in the barn to check on all the horses and employees.
“We check temperatures, legs, and if the horses ate up their evening meal,” he explained. “We start training around 6:00 am. The riders come in and I instruct them how to exercise each horse. I oversee their training and aftercare, and communicate with their owners on how they are training and when they will race. In the afternoon, we’ll either have horses running, or afternoon chores at the barn. I’ll make the schedule for the next day each afternoon.”
Jordan became involved in horse racing because he said he has always enjoyed horses and agriculture.
“I enjoy the earth, and animals, and this profession encompassed both. Once I was involved in racing, I was hooked and never wanted to leave.”
While it was experience on the racetrack that helped him prepare for training horses, Jordan said college prepared him to work for himself and running business. After college, he wanted to see what the racetrack was like, and went to work as a hotwalker (someone who walks horses after a workout) and learned from there.
Jordan explained that to do his job well he has to know all parts of Thoroughbred Racing, the anatomy of the horse, how to maintain a horse’s health, and how to manage a business, payroll, and budgets.
When we asked Jordan if he could have prepared earlier for this job, he said he would have started working on the track at a younger age. I would’ve still gone to college, but worked part time at the track.
His favorite part of his job is winning races and working with a diverse group of clients.