Three Day Class covering Philosophy & Methods of Training and Rules of Racing

 

Sponsored by The Groom Elite Program, Dr. C. Reid “Mac” McLellan will conduct a 3-day Racehorse Owners and Trainers Prep Class at Showcase Properties of Central Florida in Ocala, Florida March 17-19, 2022 and at Lone Star Park in the Chaplain’s classroom in the Racing Office Building April 7-9. Tuition is $324 with a special $25 discount for members of FTBOA, TTA, or any state breed association.  Enrollment is limited to 12 participants, so early registration is encouraged.

Racehorse Owners and Trainers Prep (ROTP 310) is three days of discussions of Philosophy and Methods of ownership and training of racehorses plus the Rules of Racing that influence decisions made by owners and trainers in their quest for return on investments. 

Rules vary from state to state and are changing every year, sometimes several times a year. This class discusses those variances with emphasis on states in which participants are most likely to own and/or train horses. The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) is moving forward with expectation of assuming authority over drug testing and safety issues including continuing education for stable area workers as well as trainers. How this will impact future (and current) owners and trainers is examined. 

Handicappers and “horseplayers” benefit from this class. An anonymous player (“don’t want to give my “edge” to my competitors”) said, “this class helped me see that some decisions by trainers and/or racetracks are because of the rules of racing and not to make it more difficult for me to pick a winner”. 

Owners take this class to facilitate communication with their trainer(s). In the past, trainers have been reluctant to “allow” their owners to even “possess” a condition book. Now, easy access to condition books for anyone with a computer or smartphone, enables owners to communicate with their trainers more effectively (and vice versa). Of particular interest to owners and trainers is a discussion on the importance of written training contracts. 

For participants interested in being licensed as a racehorse trainer (or assistant trainer) this course provides a study guide for the Rules of Racing as covered on the National Trainers’ Exam. Online practice tests and phone support after taking this class improve participants likelihood of passing a trainers’ exam.  From an attendee that failed a trainers’ exam twice before taking this class and then passing the exam: “Dr. Mac’s ‘step-by-step’ approach to putting correct entry weights on horses was worth the price of admission”.  From the recent (December 2021) ROTP class in Lexington, Ky, 100% of the participants passed the Kentucky trainers exam within a month of completing this class. 

For more information and to register for either class, go to  www.purplepowerracing.com or www.groomelite.com Anyone without internet access may call Dr. “Mac” at 318-224-1347 to sign up

 

The Elite Program, Inc. is a 501(C)3 non-profit that provides equine education classes through it’s Groom Elite™ curriculum.  With its initial primary mission (in 2001) to provide education to grooms and hotwalkers or Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse Racehorses, Groom Elite continually adapts and updates it’s programming that now includes courses for grooms and owners of OTTB show horses and welcomes owners and grooms of any breed. One of its more notable programs is its Second Chances Groom Elite curriculum taught in five adult correctional facilities in partnership with the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation and its local affiliates in which participants learn life lessons while developing an employable skill working with retired racehorses.