I want to be a track rider?

Question

im curious how much pay track riders get, and iv been a stable hand and rider for over 9 years. also how much 0pay should a stabel hand get per hour

Answer 1

It depends on what kind of riding job you want to do.  Are you are wanting to be a exercise rider, a pony person, a outrider, or a jockey.

An exercise rider gets paid $10 a horse.  Depending on how many horses you get on  a morning it varies.  My hubby  (who by the way is a retired jockey) gallops race horses gets on about 8 horses a morning.  Occasionally he has a slow morning and only gets on 3 horses and occasionally some mornings are fast and depend on the distance he has to take each horse sometimes he can manage to get on 13 horses before the track closes.

A pony person makes anywhere for $5 to $10 a horse.   A pony person not ponies horses during the races but ponies horses during training hours as well.  

A outrider is the only track rider to get paid an hourly salary because they are employed by the track itself.   They are responsible for looking out for the riders and horses on the track and do what the can to insure the safety of the riders and horses.  They work during training hours and the races.  They are responsible for catching loose horses, etc.

A jockey makes a mount fee that varies from track to track that can range from $35 to $55 per mount depending on the track.  then they get 10% of the purse if they win.

Grooms are paid a set weekly salary.  A groom can expect about $350 a week depending on the number of horses they rub.  Some stables also give grooms bonuses when horses win or place second.  Bonuses are usually $100 dollars for first and $50 dollars for second.  Just be aware not all trainers give bonuses.  

Hot walkers are either paid $5 dollars a horse or a set weekly wage of $200.  Hot walkers work during training hours.  They hand walk horses cooling them out when they come back from training.

Edit: I forgot mention depending the track pony persons do make slightly more than a $5 or $10 a horse during the races.  I want to say life on race track is not for the faint of heart it takes a strong, tough person to survive life on the race track.  It is a different type of lifestyle.  Not just work wise.  But like the poster below me said there are a good percentage of low lifes out there at the track and it ain't all just the grooms and hot walkers.  Drugies, Acholics, dead-beat gamblers, etc all of which are too willing to try to take advantage of young woman.  Not all race trackers are like that but a good plenty are.  Be careful.  If you'd like you can contact me at [e-mail].

Answer 2

There is not much that I can add to racehorses answer, except that there are also salary gallop hands, that are paid a weekly salary no matter how many horses they ride in a morning, and they also just work for one stable or outfit as they are called. And these days if you are a good ex. rider you could easily make 5 or 6 hundred bucks a week, when I galloped we made 2 bucks a head, and a salary ex. boy made between 200 to 250 a week and these were with big outfits. There were some mornings I was on 18 to 22 different horses, that was 25 years ago.

But the other aspect I would like to inform you on is that being a groom, stable hand or a hot walker is not such a great choice for a job. The hours stink, the work is hard and a lot of race trackers  are a bit on the slippery side, to state it mildly. And to gallop race horses, you have to know how to ride them, they are a different beast altogether. You are not going to just walk onto a track and start galloping, I don't care how well you can ride(and by the way you need to be more specific about your skills) but it still does not matter so much. It will probably take you at least 3 or 4 or 5 months before anyone around the track will give you a chance to gallop.

It also depends on the track, the more money at stake the more a trainer is willing to pay for good help.

My advice to you is go to a good track, don't get stuck at the jip tracks. Go right to Santa Anita, or Belmont or Gulfstream. A track of this caliber. You will make a bit more money to start, you will be around better horses and higher caliber trainers, the grooms and hot walkers don't change too much, they are mostly, well how can I put this fairly, gamblers, drugies, alchies  and your general all round losers, and not all of them but there is a good % of them. So be careful till you get your bearings.

And I hope you are NOT a horse lover, they usually don't do so well at the track, for you will encounter many acts of animal abuse.And many sad and pissed off horses and many very sore and used and abused stock, even at the better tracks.

Good luck.....

Oh yeah poneying horses is not a bad job, you can eventually own your own ponies(Usu. Qu. horses) and work freelancing, you are your own boss and can make a pretty good buck. And not as dangerous. You can make 20 to take a horse to the post in the afternoon and can usually work 5 or 6 or 7 races a day and in the morning I think you get 10 dollars per horse, but racehorse said you get 5 to 10 in the morn and I think she is more updated than I, but also this is where working at the cheaper tracks doesn't pay as well, that is why she said 5 to 10 $ in the morn I think. So if you add that up let's say 6 to post is 120$ and 8 in the morn that works out to be round 900 to a 1000 a week. Less feed and exp. not bad.