Every active racehorse has to have a trainer to keep them fit and look after them whilst at home. The trainers are one of the most important people within the sport, as they dedicate all their time to making sure the horses are perfectly looked after at home and are ready to race whenever the time comes. By doing so, they follow strict plans to ensure their horses are fit and schooled perfectly, giving them the best chance of winning when they race. 

What Does A Racehorse Trainer Actually Do

The trainer's job is an important one, as they are there to make sure the horse is fit and healthy, ready to race as well as managing each horse they have to be at that level all the way through a season. Each trainer’s number of horses will differ - some only have 20 and others may have anything up to 100+, so it takes a certain level of dedication, knowledge and skill to look after each individual horse, making sure all is ok whilst they are in training and at home. But arguably a trainer’s main role is to make up exercise schedules for horses, keeping an eye on the horses diets and schooling which is key to teaching the horse, especially the younger horses with less experience. 

Another key aspect of being a trainer is to deal with their horses owners - this is a very important task as ultimately it's the owners that pay the bills. A trainer’s duties towards an owner are to make sure their horses are safe whilst in their care, they are fit and schooled well when ready to run and finally provide detailed updates on their horses on a regular basis. A trainer will usually also determine what race a horse will run in/be aimed for, which is another key factor that needs to be relayed and discussed back to the owners.

A Typical Trainers' Day At The Races

Some trainers travel with their horses, but ultimately the least the trainers will do is make sure the horses are ready to travel to the racecourse, ensuring everything is safe before doing so.

When at the racecourse, trainers will most of the time walk the course themselves before racing, to make their own assessments of the track. This will help them gauge what sort of tactics might benefit their horses, as certain horses will prefer going around a certain direction, or like certain ground types etc. Walking the track beforehand can be key for a trainer in making up their minds on what tactics to relay back to the jockey riding the horse. Trainers will sometimes also walk the track with their jockeys if they are available, as this can help with tactics for the race or races.

Once the track has been walked, the final preparations will be made for their horses. They will get saddled up, usually by the trainer before they do their final checks before the horse heads into the parade ring. Once the horse is in the parade ring, the trainers will usually meet up with any owners or representatives who are in attendance to discuss the tactics and how the horse is. Once the race has concluded, they will speak to the jockeys about how their horse got on, before relaying that back to the owners or representatives. What we are seeing quite a bit more of these days is trainers or jockeys recording small videos talking about how the horse got on - this can be valuable for both the trainer and the owners.

The horses will then get all the equipment removed, before heading back home to be fed and earn a well-earned rest. Over the next few days after the horse has run, the trainer will keep an eye on their horses to make sure all is ok, they have eaten up, are not sore or stiff, before giving them a little break to freshen them up, and then essentially the process will be repeated until the horse runs again.     

Trainers And Jockeys   

Most of the time Jockeys will be decided by the owners, before being booked via the trainer with the Jockeys agents involved. However, some trainers will have their own retained yard jockey,  which means the trainer’s horses will most likely be ridden by the same retained jockey when they are running, or at least if the yard has runners all around the country. The retained rider will ride the main chances, giving them a better chance of riding winners for their boss. The right jockey can prove invaluable as the trainer and jockey have a respected working relationship, meaning more chance of success, better feedback and more of an understanding how the horses are expected to be ridden etc.

Examples Of Trainers Who Currently Have Retained Jockeys

• Aidan O’Brien and Ryan Moore
• Willie Mullins and Paul Townend
• Paul Nicholls and Harry Cobden
• Dan Skelton and Harry Skelton   
• Charlie Appleby and William Buick
• Nicky Henderson and Nico De Boinville
• Jonjo O’Neill and Jonjo O’Neill Jr
• Donald McCain and Brian Hughes
• Joe Tizzard and Brendan Powell
• Lucinda Russell and Derek Fox
• Venetia Williams and Charlie Deutsch
• Alan King and Tom Cannon