by Chris Lomon

It was rather appropriate that Doin The Most delivered Brittany Baker her first official training win.

The evening of July 13, 2019, at Hoosier Park, held great promise for the young horsewoman from Urbana, OH, who was heartened by the hope of what could be in store later in the card.

Her nervousness heightened throughout the first five races as she counted down the minutes to Doin The Most, then a 2-year-old, would take on seven rivals in the sixth race, a pace with a $6,500 purse.

Baker exhaled as she watched driver Trace Tetrick point Doin The Most, the 7-5 choice, towards the starter car and third post position on the gate.

Fourth after an opening quarter in :28.2 and a half reached in :59.2, Tetrick then gave the son of Bigrisk—The Big Daisy his cue and the bay responded with an impressive burst to take command. Three-plus lengths on top after three quarters, the duo braced for the sounds of their pursuers’ hooves closing in.

Standing on a deck reserved for horsepeople, Baker had a front-row seat for the drive to the wire.

“I get so nervous watching my horses race,” Baker said. “I like to go to the races by myself a lot of the time, just because I am so nervous. I’m pretty sure I put a hole in that deck because I was stomping my foot up and down. I was just so excited. I had owned and trained a couple of claimers, but this one was different.

“I named him myself. It’s a funny story. My boyfriend, Logan, tells me that it is me… that I am the one always trying to do the most.”

Baker certainly achieved that with Doin The Most, putting in long hours and maintaining a patient, encouraging hand with the pacer.

All the perseverance paid off that night at Hoosier Park, which came one race after a debut second over the half-mile oval in Wellston, OH.

“I cried,” she said. “This was a horse I picked out as a yearling. I had a partner, and we bought him for $3,000 out of the sale in Ohio. No one really wanted him. He was already gelded and everyone just kept on passing him by. My boyfriend and I were told that if we got him in the right spot, he would be good. It took him a little bit of time to come around, but when we got him going, everything worked out perfectly. It was nice that he was the one who gave me my first training win.”

Doin The Most would make five more starts for Baker before moving on to other connections.

In his final race under her tutelage, on Aug. 23, 2019, he added another win in the Buckeye State, the victory coming in Lima.

“I raced him six times,” Baker said. “He won three starts, was second twice and had one third. He went into a sale, and I told my partner that if he goes for anything less than $12,000, I am going to buy him back. The people who bred the horse offered to buy him back with me or buy my partner out, but he was already in the sale.

“He ended up bringing in around $20,000. At the time, I had to let him go — I understood the business — but I was sad to see him move on.”

That Baker made it to the training ranks and recorded that first win was somewhat of a longshot considering there was a time, not so long ago, when a career in horse racing wasn’t on her radar.

But that slowly changed. It was not, however, an overnight thing.

“I was born into racing,” she said. “My whole family does it. I am fourth generation on my dad’s side and third on my mother’s side. When I was young, my parents had a stable of their own, and they also managed a rehab center where the racehorses would go. People think I’m crazy, but when I was around 3 or 4, I remember swimming horses, making sure they went on the Equi-Ciser, rubbed legs, and made sure they were turned out. I am grateful to have learned the rehab aspect of racehorses.”

Baker is just as thankful that she took time to figure out that harness racing was for her.

It was, of all places, the classroom that educated her on what the future held.

“Growing up, I didn’t have any desire to make horse racing a career,” Baker said. “I went to the barn every weekend and sometimes before school, but it wasn’t something I looked at as a career. When you are younger, you want to have a balance between what you do and having time to yourself. I knew, from my mother, that it was anything but a 9-5 job.

“In high school, I would leave and go to the racetrack to catch-paddock and help. I went to college for two years to be a preschool teacher. After that, I came back and said, ‘Horses.’ I went to school in Florida, went to classes in the afternoon and night, and worked in a baby barn during the day. I think that is what that experience did, to help show me that horses and racing are what I love to do.”

There is no denying that.

Despite the demands, the disappointments, and daily grind, Baker finds unmatched joy in the barn and at the racetrack.

After a career-best 2024 campaign, she’s aiming even higher this year.

“Every year, I set a goal for wins,” Baker said. “In 2023, I was one away from reaching my goal of 20. Last year, I set my goal for 25 wins, and I ended up surpassing it by two. So, this year, I wanted to set the goal a little higher. I landed on wanting to get 35 wins. I don’t go by purse earnings, but I race cheaper horses, who I own myself. Hopefully, I can attain that number this year.”

Down the road, Baker would like to transition her operation into one geared towards younger stock.

“Eventually, I would like to flip over into a younger horse barn,” she said. “But I feel I still have a lot to learn and to understand the babies first. I would think around 10 babies and two racehorses of my own would be ideal. Right now, we have 13 horses, and all but one is racing.”

During the colder months, Baker doesn’t stray far from the shedrow and stalls. When the temperatures rise, she makes time to enjoy the outdoor life.

“I like to be at the barn all day long,” she said. “When the opportunity does arise — it’s cold now, so I just enjoy spending time with my horses — my boyfriend and I, we have two dogs, so we like to take the young one hiking. We like to walk trails and enjoy nature.”

Even in those idyllic, sun-soaked moments, horses are never far from her thoughts. In fact, they are often the main topic of conversation.

“Some people don’t bring the barn home with them, but we do,” she said. “When my boyfriend and I go for walks, it’s a good time to reevaluate outside of the barn and go through things together.”

It is that support that spurs Baker on.

“I am still a smaller stable, but I would not be able to function without my little sister, Brianna, who lives with me,” Brittany said. “She comes to the barn in the mornings and when we race, she finds time to get her schoolwork done and help me. She has a retired racehorse who she rides and just adores. I am usually optimistic, but on the days when I am feeling down or questioning anything, my boyfriend keeps me grounded and always encourages me.

“They are a big part of what I do.”

As are many others, including her mother and stepfather.

“My mom puts her whole heart into each horse,” Brittany said. “My mom and my stepdad have always had a small stable, around four of their own. My mom would just spend hours and hours taking care of the horses and of us. She would be up early in the morning at the barn, come back home, make sure we would get to school, and head right back to the barn. She would be there all day. That love of the horse – I got that from my mom, and it is something I am grateful for.

“My stepfather, who is from New Zealand, has taught me a lot about horsemanship. I learned a lot of things about how they do things there. I probably bother him so much, but he is great to me. My mom and my stepfather have instilled in me an approach of, ‘horse first and you second.’ But sometimes that will bite me in the butt.”

Even when it does, Brittany has no regrets about the life and career she chose, where doing the most helps her navigate the unpredictability of horse racing.

“In this business, there is a lot of luck involved,” she said. “I have gone for two months without a win, and I have also won three in a week. All you can do is work hard, take care of your horses, put them in the best situation, and hopefully, everything turns out as you hope it does.”