BY SARAH WELK BAYNUM
Heather Smullen has a lifetime of experience with several jobs in the Thoroughbred industry as a trainer, assistant trainer, exercise rider, breeder and owner. And it all started at a young age when her aunt introduced her to the racehorse world.
“My aunt worked for Barclay Tagg for quite a long time. I’d always followed racing, but still remember going to Saratoga when I was around 16-years-old and helping there for a summer on vacation. After being in Saratoga in the atmosphere, seeing the horses, the care they get, the competition—there’s no way not to love that. I’d always had shown horses, but that’s when I really started to gravitate towards the Thoroughbred side,” Smullen said.
Smullen later became an exercise rider for many years, eventually rising to become an assistant trainer for Tagg.
“I was also the assistant for Ralph Nicks down here for quite a few years. Caledonia Road as a 2-year-old won the Breeders’ Cup [Juvenile Fillies] (Grade 1) and she was a Florida-bred. We had her and she broke her maiden at Saratoga. She went out to Del Mar and I galloped her every day since I was Ralph Nick’s assistant at the time. It was nice to be able to do that with a good filly, a good ownership group, and a Florida-bred to top it off. When I worked for Barclay, I was around so many nice horses and the experiences through him that just were unmatched,” Smullen said.
But after a riding accident, her career in the industry shifted.
“I ended up training at Gulfstream at one point and I injured my leg in a riding accident a few years ago. I had a horse go into an outside rail with me and it broke my leg, so I wasn’t going to be able to continue galloping. I’d been an assistant for a while and I had a couple of people that were going to give me some horses to work with. I really enjoyed the training aspect of it.”
“My mom lives in Florida and we’ve always had a couple Thoroughbreds we’ve bred. I’ve always owned some on my own too, whether they turned into racehorses or show horses—whatever they were best suited for.”
Smullen has also enjoyed breeding and racing in Florida primarily for several reasons.
“I’ve always liked to breed regionally in Florida specifically because we do have a good Florida-bred program. We’ve always kept one or two broodmares and sometimes I sell them, sometimes I keep them to race, and then we’ll rotate them in and out. It’s nice finding stallions that are up and coming that go on to make big names for themselves, as well as an impact on the industry. They’ve turned out a lot of good stallions from Florida.
“For example, Girvin’s gone on and done well, among others. I think it’s a very well set up regional market, and it makes it cost effective for owners and breeders as well,” Smullen said.
While some farms have a breed-to-sell focus, Smullen prefers a breed and purchase to race business model.
“Right now, our focus is mostly on training,” Smullen said. “I like to breed to race, and as a trainer when I go to a sale, I want to get a racehorse. I want to get something that’s going to support the industry, as opposed to something that’s just going to flip around at a sale. That’s great for some people, however, I think we’re losing a lot of the racehorse mindset. Ideally, you want to breed to make a good racehorse, not just a good sales horse in my opinion. Good sales horses are great for everyone involved, but they must go on and be able to compete as well.”
Right now, Smullen has about 25 horses in training at Gulfstream between her own horses and horses for clients.
“I have some higher end owners that have well-bred mares that just need to get their maiden broke. I also have individual owners that are owner-breeders in Florida, which is great because even if they run and do get claimed, the owner is still doing well because of the Florida-bred Incentive Program. So, those horses can continue on in their racing career and do well for the owner or breeder originally, and it tends to make everyone happy. It’s good all the way around for the industry as a whole,” Smullen said.
But Smullen and many of her clients also have the best interests of the horses in mind both during their racing careers and after the track.
“I have a great group of owners. Horses that are older horses or that haven’t made it to the tracks or whatever, we’ve been able to rehome a lot of those horses,” she continued. “I find this is a big part of what I enjoy doing as a trainer, and as an owner. Horses that aren’t going to do well as racehorses for whatever reason, I really like to be able to find them new homes and careers because Thoroughbreds aren’t just limited to being race horses. They can go on and be very productive show horses, riding horses, pet horses, etc.”
