Throughout history, no female trainer has ever won the Kentucky Derby.
Only a handful of female trainers have ever tried their luck in the race.
Shannon Ritter is setting out to challenge those odds in her first start as a trainer in the upcoming Kentucky Derby.
Prior to becoming a trainer, Ritter worked as an exercise rider and jockey. Five years ago, she began training horses on her own after learning from Elliott Walden, racing manager at WinStar Farm.
In February, Ritter raced Endorsement in a maiden race at Oaklawn Park. The race was on the undercard of the Grade III $250,000 Southwest Stakes – which Conveyance won.
In an impressive 2 ½ length victory, Endorsement broke his maiden on his third career start.
After his maiden win, Ritter entered Endorsement in the $800,000 Grade III Sunland Derby. In that race, Conveyance was the favorite at odds of 3-5.
In an authoritative three-length victory, Endorsement won the Sunland Derby.
The win secured Endorsement a spot in the upcoming Kentucky Derby.
As Ritter prepares the horse for the race, she remains actively involved in his training. On April 17, Endorsement worked five furlongs at Keeneland in 1:01.60.
During the workout, Ritter rode the horse herself.
When asked who would work him leading into the Kentucky Derby, Ritter explained, “I haven’t decided yet who will work him, but it will probably be me.”
Clearly, Ritter isn’t afraid of hard work and tough odds.
She takes them with stride.
In a recent interview, Ritter talked about her career in the racing industry and her first start as a trainer in the Kentucky Derby with Endorsement.
JW: What first inspired you to work with horses in life?
SR: I think I was just born with it in my blood. I grew up in Minnesota, where there weren’t any race horses. I had just seen them on TV.
I always loved horses as a little girl. It was just something inside me.
When I graduated high school, I decided to leave Minnesota and pursue my dream of being with race horses.
JW: How does it feel for you to go to the Kentucky Derby for your first time in your training career?
SR: It’s every trainers dream. It’s such a prestigious race in the racing industry. Every trainer has the dream of having a horse in the Derby, as well as winning it.
It’s been real exciting. We’re looking forward to Saturday and all the excitement of Derby day.
JW: If you were to win the Kentucky Derby, you would be the first female trainer in history to win the race. How do you feel about having the opportunity to make history?
SR: I feel really good. It would be amazing to make that kind of history as a female in the racing world. Not only for me - but for all females.
JW: You have worked as an exercise rider and jockey. What inspired you to become a trainer?
SR: After I quit riding, I became an assistant trainer for Elliot Wallace. I’m the type of person who is always challenging myself to move forward and try different things.
As an assistant trainer, you’re basically a trainer without having the complete responsibility and making all of your own decisions. So, I just wanted to go ahead and try it and see how it went.
JW: You just rode Endorsement in a workout on April 17. Do gain any special understanding of your horse by being the rider during workouts?
SR: No doubt about it. I have experience riding from being a jockey.
Sometimes as a rider, you can feel things that you might not see in the eye while watching a horse.
For me, the breeze is important, but the gallop out is just as important. The way a horse gallops out can give you an indication of how well he is doing.
[As the rider,] I have the opportunity to make that decision – to let the horse ease up on his own or let him gallop out if they are doing extremely well. If they don’t need to gallop out, I can make that choice as well.
JW: What strengths do you see in Endorsement?
SR: One of his strengths is that he’s a pretty cool customer. He handles everything well and he doesn’t let things upset him too much.
He knows how to rest when he needs to rest. He eats well. He’s been traveling well. It didn’t seem to upset him traveling when we went to Sunland Park.
I think that’s going to be his biggest asset. I think he’ll handle all the hoopla well on Derby day.
JW: Does Endorsement have any favorite items or things?
SR: He likes both peppermints and apples. He likes anything – he’s a pretty good eater.
He’s been devouring peppermints lately.
JW: What is the general temperament of Endorsement?
SR: He’s pretty professional and nice to be around.
He likes to have friends. He’ll nicker a little bit at some of the other horses. It’s not bad – he just wants to be friends.
JW: What makes the Kentucky Derby a special race for you?
SR: For me, my dream was to ride in the Kentucky Derby since I was a rider. I loved to ride. I still love to ride.
After not being able to do that, this has been pretty special to train a horse for the Derby. To train a horse for Winstar Farm and go to the Kentucky Derby for them just makes it really special.
