Hoosier Park was always Jacob Rheinheimer’s ‘dream job’

Trenton, NJ — When Emily Ratcliff called Jacob Rheinheimer to tell him he will be receiving the 2024 United States Harness Writers Association’s Barasch Breakthrough Award at this year’s Dan Patch Awards banquet, it was Christmas Eve. But to Rheinheimer, it felt almost like April Fool’s Day.

“When Emily gave me the call,” he said, “it never quite registered.”

Once reality hit, Rheinheimer could not be happier to be honored at the event, presented by Caesars Entertainment, on Sunday at Rosen Centre in Orlando, Fla.

“It means a lot,” he said. “I’m very fortunate to get to work in this industry after growing up in it. I have a love for this industry and being able to be recognized like that is a really special thing for me.”

Rheinheimer is on a fast-track career as Racing Marketing Manager and Sponsorships Coordinator at Harrah’s Hoosier Park Racing & Casino in Indiana. He took over the position last February after serving as Race Marketing Operations administrator for three years. Prior to that he interned for three years at the track for Ratcliff while pursuing a Sports and Fitness Administration/Management degree at Trine University in Indiana.

Jacob considers Ratcliff “everything” and moved into her position when she moved to join the team at the Red Mile. Ratcliff, incidentally, was the Breakthrough Award winner in 2014.

“She’s been one of my mentors and my best friend over the course of the last seven years,” Rheinheimer said. “I started to work for her in 2018. I’m a pretty quiet, shy person, so I said maybe three words that first year. She had confidence in me, kept pushing me, kept bringing me back and challenging me. She’s been incredible to me; I really owe her pretty much everything as to where I’m at.”

Rheinheimer oversees the track’s events and promotions and previously coordinated the First Turn Stable fractional ownership group. He is the track spokesperson, and last year gained a steady role as analyst for Hoosier Park’s broadcasts.

He feels the broadcast work might be the reason he’s considered a “breakthrough” guy after eight years in the industry.

“I think getting to do more of the TV stuff and getting my face out there a little more was certainly pretty cool,” he said. “I’ve grown a lot this last year, probably more than the other seven years combined. It’s been a big learning curve this year.”

The combination of Rheinheimer’s proven track record as a handicapper and his knowledge of the business made him the right man to shine a positive light on Hoosier racing. He had the horse smarts, he just needed a style.

“I wasn’t a trained broadcaster in any way,” Rheinheimer said. “It’s been a lot of help from people like Emily and Bob (Hollywood) Heyden. So, I appreciate their help and patience. I just had to find my footing as the year went on.”

Rheinheimer did a bit of broadcasting when Ratcliff went on paternity leave in 2022 and got a little more the following year. Last season he became Hoosier’s lead analyst.

“Doing it every day regularly there’s a lot to learn,” he said. “Emily always said ‘Trust your horse race knowledge and your handicapping knowledge and the rest will follow.’ I was so worried about making a fool of myself on TV that maybe I’m not getting the information I need to get to and putting that information first. The polish will follow in time and that’s how it worked out.”

One of Jacob’s proudest professional moments came while working the 2023 Breeders Crown, for which he drew high praise from industry folks.

“When you have the Breeders Crown, you’re just kind of hanging on for dear life,” he said with a laugh. “I don’t quite know what impressed people. It was the second Breeders Crown I’ve been able to do and to work with great people like Moira Fanning and John Campbell, that’s pretty cool. The first one I worked was the 2020 Covid year and we didn’t have fans. I actually got to work the full event in 2023, that was quite a thrill.”

Rheinheimer’s reach extends beyond Hoosier Park. He serves as a freelance writer for Midwest Harness Report and several other publications, and he is vice president of the Indiana Chapter of the U.S. Harness Writers Association.

It is no surprise Jacob chose harness racing as a career. It was injected into his veins as a wee lad growing up in Sturgis, Mich., near the northern Indiana border, and still circulates through his system.

Rheinheimer is the grandson of the late Larry Rheinheimer and son of Marty Rheinheimer, who were all involved in some way in the breeding, training, and owning of superstar pacer Freaky Feet Pete. Young Jacob would attend fair races with his grandparents and be in the barn every Saturday morning.

“I’ve been pretty much obsessed with it since I was a little kid and I never wanted to get out of it,” he said. “As a little kid I desperately wanted to be a driver. I thought John Campbell was the coolest person ever.”

Once he got into high school Rheinheimer began to think more in terms of being a trainer, and he still has not given up that idea.

“I like fast food a little too much to be a driver,” he said. “But I hope there might be a chance to train when this part of my career is over. I’ve gotten into the ownership game a little with my dad and still love that aspect of the game. But I’m still enjoying the path I’m on right now.”

As he was pursuing his college degree, Rheinheimer’s first aim was always harness racing. His “fall back” options were golf or a professional sports franchise, but once he began as a Hoosier Park intern he was locked in.

After idolizing guys like Campbell and so many others growing up, he was now working with them at major events.

“There were a lot of times, especially at the Breeders Crown, you’re back in the paddock working with them, and doing some media stuff with them and it’s like ‘Holy cow, how is this my job?’” he said. “The people and the horses you get to cover are really a dream come true.

“I had a plan with what I wanted to do in my life, and for it to all work out the way it did, it’s kind of unbelievable. It makes me really grateful. Hoosier was always the dream job. That’s the only place I’ve worked outside of the barn. I’m very fortunate with that.”

Especially since it sits less than three hours from his family in northern Indiana.

“That’s really the cool thing,” he said. “I’m so tight with my family. We’ve never lived more than 20 minutes apart and now I’m 2-1/2 hours away, but I still see them every week. I can’t be at a racetrack without thinking of them. It’s a way to be close to them even if it’s not physically.”

Rheinheimer admitted he is pleasantly surprised at how far his career has come in such a short time. And the good news for Harrah’s Hoosier Park is that, unlike many young professionals who enjoy quick success, Jacob is not constantly searching for his next big gig.

“I’m covering horsemen I’ve grown up with,” he said. “It’s not like I’m trying to get to a new place or a new track. I just want to do the people proud that I’m covering now because they’ve meant so much to me not just in my career but in my life. Because I’ve grown up around these people, I’m incredibly loyal to Indiana and am just trying to do the best job I can.”

by Rich Fisher, for the USTA