My steed was primed, pampered and ready for a sure win. How in the world did it wind up with an apprentice jockey who is 0 for 20 at the current meet? It´s an embarrassing question to present to the trainer because it might imply that your trainer doesn´t have sufficient "clout" to get the rider you both want. Or it may suggest that the folks on the backside have determined that your horse isn´t a likely winner, so the top jockeys have shied away. Maybe and maybe not.

The top jockeys are going to go with the "livest" horse in any race, no matter when that horse appears on the racing schedule, and often no matter who is training it.

The potential race card for "today" was first posted as far back as two weeks ago. Forty-eight hours ago, your trainer entered your horse, after having, in all likelihood, discussed with a jockey agent a jockey, or jockeys, who would be acceptable if the race became a "go." But the race card has undergone a lot of changes since then (see chapter on "Entries"). An agent may have committed his jockey to a horse and since found out that a more favored horse or, yes, a trainer to whom he "owes one" needs that jockey for the same race. The ensuing trading of favors between your trainer and the jockey´s agent may leave your horse to one of the less desirable riders - i.e., the aforementioned 0 for 20 apprentice. By the same token you, thanks to your trainer and "past dues," may be the one on the favorable side of a trade.

Unless an owner spends an unusual amount of time on the backside, it is hard to break into the comfortable, triangular dialogue that takes place between trainers, jockeys´ agents and the jockeys themselves. It´s a "family thing" - sometimes literally. Jockeys and trainers often are the sons or relatives of other jockeys and trainers; many of them, and the jockeys´ agents, have grown up in the same small world.

Every day, jockeys begin to appear in the stable area as workouts begin (around dawn). Good professionals, they are concerned about gaining experience on mounts they may have in future races. They are also doing favors as they track horses for various trainers. So jockey participation in morning workouts becomes a part of the "weave" of trade-offs that can occur.