What do you pay for a pony person to pony

[ageecee]

your horse in a race?



I pay $20

[cewright]

$20 is the going rate in TX and OK.

[Jane]

$34.00 at Woodbine

[valjoe]

Whatever you pay is too much, according to the rules your horse is out of your control and responsibility the moment it sets foot on the track, this expense should be covered by the racing associations

[madelyn]

Turfway Pk is $25.

[wilf]

Valjoe it's never too much . As a trainer I do the best I can to get my horse to the gate safely and warmed up for his race so it makes perfect sense to shell out $25 or so after spending so much to get there. Some squirrelly fillies could never make it without one so I figure that it's money well spent.

[Sylvie Hebert]

agreed Wilf many years ago I had a very good but powerful mare.The jockey an european arguee that no need for a pony and he would warm her well"I am a rider,not a passenger" he said.Well she ran off with him the wrong way in the post parade all around the track (Gulfstream)he even went tru the small trees on the outside....he arrived to the gate on the turf at one point(no pick up horse could catch her)and instead of scratching her the dumb ass loaded her and off they went!!she left the gate last ,he just drop the reins,passed everyone but hold the lead a few hundred feet then proceed to slow down....

Never without a pony!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[valjoe]

Wilf, I totally agree with you, more often than not they need a pony, however pony riders should be employed by the track, and if you feel like tipping your pony boy for a job well done that's up to you

[ageecee]

So would $80 be too much for a pony?

[Jane]

If $80 was the going rate where I was running then I would pay it, better safe than sorry.

As far as the track providing the pony riders... I don't like that idea at all. I want to be able to select my pony rider, often they do my morning work and know the horses and all their quirks. I had one filly last year who was unusually bad in the paddock and post parade, we did extensive schooling with her and with the help of an excellent pony person managed to get her to the winners circle. No way would some interchangable track pony person have been able to do this. When I'm paying over 3k a month to have my horse in training I'm not about to cheap out on things like lead ponies.

[ageecee]

This pony person is not charging $80 its the trainer who is charging $80

[Jane]

If the going rate was $20 and the trainer was marking up that service for no reason then you need to change trainers.

What reason does the trainer give for the unjustified mark-up?

[ageecee]

No clue Jane im not with the trainer but i have some friends who are with the trainer.

[Jane]

Have your friends considered asking their trainer to explain the reason for this charge?

[Patuxet]

In Europe they seem to do just fine without ponies. Why did they became so necessary here?