Letter from North America

Alex Brown
www.alexbrownracing.com
Bringing you a weekly blog about racing across the Pond...

January 2010

December 2009

November 2009

October 2009

September 2009

August 2009

July 2009

June 2009

May 2009

April 2009

March 2009

ABOUT ALEX:
Originally from Cheshire in the UK, Alex got his start with horses through his family, the Cheshire Forest Pony Club, Cheshire Forest Hunt and local Point to Pointing. After a very undistinguished career as a point to point jockey, Alex flew over the pond to North America where he has worked for the last 21 years.

He began his experience in North America working for trainer Michael Dickinson, at Fair Hill. Alex remained at Fair Hill for the better part of 20 years, working for a variety of trainers in a variety of capacities. He also gained his MBA, and worked at a local University teaching Internet Marketing. 



In 2006 Alex was freelancing as an exercise rider for thoroughbred trainer Tim Woolley, a fellow Brit, where 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro was trained.
 
Following Barbaro’s catastrophic racetrack injury and subsequent eight-month fight to recover at U Penn’s New Bolton Center, thousands of fans followed Alex’s website updates of Barbaro’s condition. The Fans of Barbaro, or FOB’s, banded together to show support for the horse. While Barbaro eventually succumbed to laminitis, his legacy lives on through the efforts of FOB’s and others concerned with equine issues, including horse slaughter, horse rescue, funding Laminitis research, and other special fundraisers.
 
Alex left Fair Hill in 2007 and established alexbrownracing.com to continue Barbaro's legacy while he now travels around North America from one racetrack to the next. His journey so far:

• Started at Penn National where he spent three weeks as a freelance exercise rider.
• He then went to Presque Isle Downs, for five weeks during its inaurgural meet (September), working as a groom, hotwalker and exercise rider.
  
• Next stop was Keeneland for its October meet working for Eddie Kenneally as a salaried exercise rider.
  
• He then moved to Churchill Downs with the same job for a couple of weeks.
  
• In November of 2007 he moved to Sam Houston Race Park, as a salaried exercise rider, to work for Steve Asmussen.
  
• In April 2008 he moved to Woodbine to continue working for Steve Asmussen.
  

Eclipse Magazine joins Alex in the current leg of his tour with Steve's outfit at Oaklawn Park for the winter of 2008–2009...

Want to read more about Alex and his work? Catch up with him at www.alexbrownracing.com