3rd in series Chronicles of a Broke Horse Trainer

BUCK by HorseN Around with Mr. Ed Ed McArty

Those of us that have owned horses for a good portion of our lives know that once in a great while, and sometimes once in a lifetime, you come across that special partner that seems to blend with your mind and spirit in such a way that conscious cues and conscious thought processes become almost unnecessary for the working relationship. Such is the case with Buck and I. It began in the early Summer of 1984. I was taking a couple of my young horses and a couple of young client horses to a little rundown track in South Sioux City, Nebraska called Atokad Park. It was one step above a “bush track” but it was recognized by the Jockey Club of North America which meant that the races here would count on your horse's record. This can be very important since most tracks have screening rules for eligibility to run there. Examples would be that a maiden (non-winner of a race) could not run once it reached 5 years of age or a horse that had ever run below a certain claiming price (ex. $3000) could not run unless it had finished top 4 in one of its last 4 races since running for the low claiming price. It is relatively easy for a horse to get into eligibility trouble due to injury, layoffs or simply bad breaks. In those cases, the small tracks with low purses but somewhat easier competition could prove very useful. I pulled into Atokad Park in May of 1984 hoping to break the maiden on the 4 horses in tow, all of which were four-year-old maidens, and then move on to someplace with somewhat better purses. The barns were long wooden structures with open shed rows to the outside of the stalls. I learned quickly that you don’t unload horses until you have checked the stalls. With the maintenance budget at Atokad, it