Diligence paying off for Stacey Currie

Stacey Currie has arrived.

The 32-year-old Milton, Ontario native, who grew up in a harness racing family and amassed half a lifetime of experiences before branching out on her own in 2021—is achieving outstanding results.

“Both my parents have worked in the harness racing business all their lives, Stacey offered. “My mom is a caretaker and my dad always broke and trained babies. Growing up, we had a small farm with turn outs and a barn, and we were stabled at First Line Training Center.”

The training center was literally right next door to Stacey’s home, and as a teenager, besides working with her father, she’d routinely clean 30 or more stalls on a Sunday, while also grabbing as many paddocks as she could manage on the weekends.

“My folks always kept ten to 20 horses,” she recalled. “I would have odds jobs at the barn and worked as a vet assistant for two years for two different vets and had initially thought I wanted to be a vet after I graduated from High School in 2008, but I wasn’t focused enough. I learned the business from the ground up and was a good groom—one of those who was the first person in, in the morning, and the last to leave the barn in the afternoon. I focused on learning everyone else’s program, to see what I felt worked and what didn’t, and then I would use what I had learned on my own.”

As the COVID pandemic began to wane in 2021, Stacey made the transition to training full time.

“I decided it was time to go out on my own—that I deserved that chance because I had helped so many people for so many years,” she confirmed. “My parents were super supportive, and my dad pushed me really hard and told me he would help me with anything that I needed.”

One thing Stacey needed was the funding to support her dream, so that she could purchase horses that she felt would be right for her training style.

“My grandmother is one of the biggest financial parts of me being able to train on my own,” Stacey explained. “She gave me the money to buy a couple of horses; two in particular that helped me get my start.”

Stacey’s base is now in Thornville, Ohio, at trainer Doug Hinklin’s old farm, with her stable consisting of 11 horses, nine of which she owns herself, and two others—in partnership through Thunder Ridge Racing. She said she wanted to race in America after hitting all of the smaller raceways in Ontario when she first began her stable in 2021. That first season she sent 133 starters postward who earned $184,798 from 56 wins, ten seconds, and ten thirds, for a .488 UTRS.

“I really believe that horses need to be outside all day, every day,” she said. “I also think they need to be in a herd situation where they can thrive.”

After arriving stateside in early 2022, Stacey began to rack up serious numbers at Pocono Downs.

“I was initially interested in Pocono Downs because of the claiming series they offered there,” she stated. “After the luck I had at the smaller tracks in Ontario my first season, I felt the time was right to make a move to the states.”

The time was right indeed as Stacey more than doubled her numbers of the previous season, with her charges earning $412,017 from 48 wins, 35 seconds, and 24 thirds in 165 starts, for a UTRS of .457 in 2022.

“The support of my parents was paramount for me succeeding,” she confirmed. “My mother is one of the best caretakers ever, and she stressed to me that the mental health and well-being of a horse is especially important. Keeping them happy is just as important as maintaining their physical soundness. My father always instilled in me, and continues to instill in me, the importance of classification. Racing a horse where they don’t belong is not fair to the horse.”

Stacey said she sees being a female trainer in a male-dominated sport as a plus.

“Having your best female caretaker run your entire stable is a definite plus,” she stressed. “I think horses respond to us differently if they’re sulky or sour. They respond to our voice, our touch, everything, and I think a good caretaker can make an exceptionally good trainer if they focus on the overall well-being of the animal.

“I can honestly say that combining what my parents have taught me has contributed to my doing well,” she noted. “Classification and the mental health of the horse are key. I want my horses to be happy and to want to go for me. I think as a trainer you need to respect them and that can also mean if you don’t get along with them, or can’t figure out the key to them, you have to respect them enough to get rid of them. As trainers, we all are doing pretty much the same thing and yet we all do something different. I think it’s best to put your ego aside when you don’t get along with a horse and know that the right thing to do for the horse is to give them a chance with someone else. It doesn’t mean that you did anything wrong, it just means that the horse didn’t suit you. It’s like in school when you have a teacher you loved, and the other kids didn’t. Not everyone fits in the same program.”

Stacey currently sits sixth in the standings at The Meadows, which has become one of her favorite places to race.

“I really like racing at The Meadows because they put out a great condition sheet,” she said. “My horses have done well there. I like to buy horses that I think will fit my program, and I think it’s always good to buy horses that are racing elsewhere and bring them to a new track. It’s good for the horses and good for the tracks to have an influx of new competition.”

This season to date Stacey has already amassed $380,800 in purse earnings from 55 wins, 25 seconds and 19 thirds in 158 purse starts, and her UTRS stands at a healthy .476 through July 31.

“I feel very honored to be competing at such a high level,” she admitted. “The conditions The Meadows provide have allowed me to classify horses and to make money and to do well. As I result, I’ve bought horses that I thought would suit the Meadows racing style.”

One of those horses is Tide Has Turned, a 3-year-old son of Downbytheseaside that she purchased in May of this year. The gelding won his first start for Stacey on May 30 in 1:52.1 at Northfield and since then has been competing successfully in the Buckeye Stallion Series (BSS) and Ohio Fair Stakes (OHFS). Another horse who has been competing well is Ideal Destiny, a 4-year-old Western Ideal mare that she acquired in January.

“Ideal Destiny is a beautiful, well-put together mare, and she was okay when I first got her but not racing as strongly as I thought she should be,” Stacey confirmed. “I was getting frustrated with her and didn’t really know what to do with her to bring her out of her shell and up to her potential, so I gave her time and made sure she wasn’t bleeding or tying up. Eventually, my efforts seemed to get through to her and in late May she won in 1:51 at Northfield.”

Ideal Destiny has amassed $86,474 this year under Stacey’s tutelage, nearly double what she earned in 2022, and that half-mile mark of 1:51 was a career best.”

“Owning these horses helps because I can spend the time to make a go with a horse like that,” Stacey added. “I could never afford to buy an open horse or a super quality horse so I’ve got to make one, like with Ideal Destiny, she finally started getting better and better, and it took me a while to get her figured out to see what would make her happy and want to go on to win. That also helped me to help the driver to know what kind of trip would suit her best.”

Stacey stressed that when it comes to choosing the right driver for a particular horse, communication is key.

“With the drivers, I have to have one that I can speak to professionally, who will listen to me and respect me,” she noted. “Ronnie Wrenn, Jr., and Hunter Myers are two guys that come straight to mind. I can talk to them professionally and I feel that every single time they drive my horses they give me 100 percent. As a trainer you want a driver who is trying the hardest for you and when you’re talking about a nose that makes the difference between winning and finishing second, so it’s vital to have a good relationship with your driver.”

Part of Stacey’s training regime includes putting horses on the hose, nebulizing, and swimming, in addition to horses being on pasture for the majority of their days.

“I think that swimming is one of the best forms of exercise for a racehorse because for one, it’s different for them—you’re not putting a harness on them and going in a circle,” she said. “You can get them physically fit without being hard on their joints and feet. Putting horses on the cold-water hoses and nebulizing them is standard practice for my whole barn—I focus on breathing and bleeding and always try to cover that base. I’m also a huge fan of the cold laser boot as well.”

With her excellent caretaking and training skills, and diligence, it is likely that Stacey Currie will be around for many more years to come.

by Kimberly Rinker, for Harnesslink