Hi CRK,
I am not aware of any of this information that is free. But equibase is the most complete site for information that I do know of.

Generally its the trainers advice but ultimately it is the owners of the horse who has the last say.

First, there is the actual owner of the horse who decides where the horse will be trained & for what purpose. Not all race horses are trained with the idea that they will become a winner. Some are simply a tax write offs or an investment to “conceal funds”. A horse trainer used to be a horseman. Meaning that they knew ALL aspects pertaining to the horse, including breeding. Sadly, today there are very few true horsemen in the Horseracing Industry. Anyway, once the owner decides on a STABLE (trainer), the horse is placed into daily training to get them ready to race. This is a 24/7 regimin that the horse is placed on from the day they walk off the trailer & into the barn. It includes training just like an athelete & a diet to match. The horse is ultimately the responsibility of the trainer, who also employs an assistant trainer. The horse starts it’s day at apx 4:00am, when the groom arrives to the barn to start the routine that will include walking for one hour, either by hand or by machine, or being ridden on the training track OR the main track by the EXERCISE RIDER. Many barns emply their own riders, but most just use whoever they can get on a moments notice, because trainers often do not pay the riders until they are forced to. Many exercise riders are the Pony Riders who accompany the horses to the starting gate. Many are also licensed Jockeys who will exercise horses they are planning to ride in an upcoming race. The exercise rider have more weight on them (120-150)& this is sometimes good when training your horse, as the jockey is usually only 100 lbs. It is the same for a horse that is is for a human athelete in regards to using weights to build muscle & strength. The trainer is usually at the mercy of the assistant trainer & they are at the mercy of the exercise rider who is at the mercy of the groom, who is usually struggling to keep everyone happy & find someone to walk their horses properly & hold them steady for their baths & vet exams. Everyone must COMMUNICATE any & all concerns & problems regarding the horse in every aspect of their lives from the smell of their **** down to the sparkle (or lack of) in their eyes. It takes approximately 2 years to ready a horse properly for their first race. A lot of trainers can do this in one year, but many choose to do it in 3 to 6 months in order to avoid losing money from the owner pulling the horse out from their stable & into another trainers stable. Unfortunately, when this happens all the work that has been done by all the people in the last stable comes to a halt. The new trainer does not use any of the same people (rarely), and the horse must learn to adapt to their new surroundings & unfamiliar people who treat them in a new way. Each barn feeds differently, employs different types of people, has different equipment, different vets, & different rules regarding the people who have had contact with the horse in the past. A horse forms a bond with their caregivers which is not easily broken & many trainers fear this, so they do not allow continued contact. Ultimately, it is the horse who makes the final decision in almost everything due to their size advantage. It is the humans who decide on how to deal with each animal on an individual basis, according to the needs & demands of both the owner & trainer. Everyone else is there to make sure the horse doesn’t get hurt or neglected. Unfortunately, some people will do anything for money, power or revenge & this is when it gets ugly & everyone loses. Addition/Edit…I almost forgot the most important thing is that when a horse is entered in a race, they can only do so with a clean bill of health from the track vet. Many times a horse is scratched after the pre-race exam. It is MY opinion that tighter standards are needed in this area due to the MANY injuries & deaths of both horse & rider. If they paid as much attention to the horse as they do to the Jockey, I believe there would be far less injured animals! Also, I really didn’t say too much about the hotwalkers. For some reason they get left out of the equation, but without them, the groom wouldn’t be able to handle 5-6 horses daily, especially on race day! The hotwalker is often seen in the paddock area carrying the water pail & other equipment the groom will need when the trainer requests it prior to the race. After the race, the hotwalker & groom tend to the 2 hour job of “cooling down” the horse, which is the hardest & most difficult time to both animal & human handlers! It is also quite rewarding, even when they don’t win!

The TRAINER makes the call.. if the Horse is OUT TO WIN or is in a WORKOUT….shooting for a comeback race later in the month…bring him from behind or just let him drag you out and see how long you can WIRE IT…and even IF the JOCKEY hasn’t rode this horse before…they know how to read the D.R.F.(raceform)to get idea what the horse can do….in the OLD DAYS many infactions where given for not riding a horse out PROPERLY or losing the mount the next time out

The total responsibility for the training and caring for the horse rests with the trainer. If any medications are needed or problems with technique, many times the morning exercies rider with convey any difficulties with guiding the horse to the trainer.

Most of the times, the morning exercise rider and the jockey are two seperate people. It is the duty of the trainer to bring the horse into the winner’s circle. The trainer will determine, with the owners permission, which jocket will ride a race horse for any race.

Sometimes a trainer will play around with the jockey colony to put the right jockey on the race horse for any given race. A good jockey will listen to the trainer as to the general instructions as to how the horse should run. But, once the gate opens up, the horse may decide what the horse wants to do.

I have seen and known, my own thoroughbred, literally drag the jockey to the lead and for fear of putting too much pressure on the reins, will allow the horse to have his way. Sometimes to avoid a tug of war between a jockey and a horse during the race, the jockey will have to give in to the anxieties of the horse after the start of the race.

But, to answer the question as to who gives the orders and who in command of the way the horse is to be handled falls upon the desires of the trainer, knowing fully, split seconds may have to be made to have a horse win. And, if you are not out to win, you don’t belong on the racetrack.

An added footnote here is necessary. The connections of Secretariat ushered into horse racing a new trend. Since Secretariat, the term ‘team’ is much more prevelant than before 1973. It was team Secretariat, Lucien Loren-trainer, Ron Turcotte-Jockey, Helen Chenery-owner, that won the Triple Crown and of course Eddie Sweet, Secretariat’s groom also had imput before the race.

Horse racing is as much of a team sport as baseball, football, hockey, etc.

TRAINERS ARE LIKE COACHES IN OTHER SPORTS THERE THE ONES WHO STUDY THE HORSES ,PATTERNS, WEIGHTS ETC HE DOES ALL THE HARD WORK JOCKEY MAYBE RIDE THE HORSE OUT A COUPLE OF TIMES A FORTNIGHT BUT REMEMBER HOW MANY HORSES ANY ONE JOCKEY RIDES PER WEEK SO HE DOESNT HAVE TIME TO SPEND WITH EVERY HORSE .SO AS I SAY ITS ALL DOWN TO THE TRAINER AND WHAT HE TELLS THE JOCKEY TO DO THATS WHY THEY SAY THE JOCKEYS FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS

its your mom

DRF.com is the main site with declarations for US racing.

That’s exactly what you need to check….

Learn more about horse racing at:

as a horse lover I know that racing’s in my bloodline & I’d never do such a thing. However, I never knew such a thing happened. Usually U cannot even so much as get close 2 these animals due 2 the valuse of the champs. IF this really DOES happen then YES it IS cruel.