by James Platz

This weekend, Indiana’s own Jacob Rheinheimer will receive the Lew Barasch Breakthrough Award at the U.S. Harness Writers Association’s Dan Patch Awards dinner. I sat down earlier this week to talk to Rheinheimer, who serves as race marketing manager at Harrah’s Hoosier Park Racing and Casino. We discussed his family’s deep connection to harness racing, his grandfather, Larry Rheinheimer, who bred and trained Breeders Crown champion Freaky Feet Pete, and a career at Hoosier Park that began with an internship at the Anderson, IN oval and has grown into so much more.

You grew up in a harness racing family. What are your first memories of the sport?

“For me, it was probably going to the fairs with my grandma and grandpa [Larry and Mary Jo Rheinheimer] during the summer. That was always kind of the highlight of my summer, pretty much living with them during the summer, going to all the fairs. That’s probably the first memory I have. That was a big deal for me.”

What did you enjoy about the experience?

“I just remember being so excited whenever our horses went to the track. You’re sitting there, you’re a little kid, you don’t understand they are racing for like $1,500. But you’re so excited because you know the work that went into it. And you’re like shaking on the fence when they finally go to the track. The excitement when they did well, and then the heartbreak when they didn’t do well. So, I was just kind of hooked on that feeling.”

Give me the family racing history. Did it start with your grandparents?

“My great-grandfather, Ray Rheinheimer, helped start the pony races in LaGrange. Everyone did the pony racing for a while. My grandfather, my dad [Marty], and my uncle, Matt. And then in the late ’90s they made that shift to standardbred racing once Hoosier Park got going. My grandpa had a stable for the rest of his life. And then obviously now Matt and my dad each have their own stables. It’s been cool to see Matt go from place to place, whether it was working for Victory Hill Farm or working for Joe Seekman when he had Art Official. They have their own stables and I try to be as involved as I can. I own a couple with my dad. I do miss the barn aspect of it quite a bit, not living as close to them as I was.”

What were your aspirations in high school? Was harness racing going to be part of the future?

“I was always kind of a good student and I was pretty much told I was going to go to college. If it were up to me, I would have just gone straight to the barn and figured it out from there, and probably been a lifelong groom or something. So, I was looking for a connection point somehow to start a career in racing. It’s actually at the same time I was in high school that Emily Gaskin was really starting to ascend at Hoosier Park. And there’s someone with a similar background to me that’s doing this. That’s kind of what put the thought in my head that, okay, I can get a college degree and still translate it somewhere into racing.”

If harness racing didn’t work out, where do you think you would be now?

“If it didn’t work out, I was hoping to go into golf or hopefully work for a sports team of some kind. Trying to get into Purdue would have been a really cool thing too. If I could have gotten into their athletic department. But once I got the internship at Hoosier Park, then I kind of got my foot in the door. And it confirmed that that’s the direction I want to go.”

You spent the first summer there. Did you ever think this isn’t for me?

“That first year, the first Dan Patch I worked was the Lazarus year and all that went into that. And there was a large part of me that thought, ‘Holy cow, I’m not cut out for this. I don’t have this in me.’ But I don’t know, Emily saw something in me that first year, I guess, and kind of kept pushing me and kind of took me under her wing. I don’t know why. I said maybe three words total that first year as an intern. And my eyes were about this big around. That was my first job outside of the barn. She just latched on to me and kept pushing me. And I started to settle in a little bit and kind of find my path.”

You go from the barn to the front side for the summer. What was the experience in seeing racing from a different perspective?

“It definitely helped me learn the handicapping side of it a lot more. Getting to work with the bettors or the regulars who are there every night, and seeing more of that aspect, I just learned the business and the financials of it a little bit more and what actually translates into money for these racetracks. I was always one of those people, I think you see a lot of these people who say, ‘The sport just needs marketing and then it will all be fixed.’ And then you get in it and you’re kind of in the beast a little bit. You realize there’s a lot more that goes into this. It’s just pretty eye-opening learning how the business actually works. And there’s no real quick fix if that’s what you’re looking for.”

Did that lead to interesting conversations with family at home?

“It did. I think it helped the more I was at Hoosier Park, being able to give that perspective. I think it helped them understand why things were the way they were. Not that everyone always agreed on everything. Not that I always agreed on everything. But, yeah, I think giving them that perspective kind of helped them see the big picture a little bit more.”

You finish that first summer. Was it a guarantee that you’re coming back?

“I knew I wanted to keep my foot in the door as long as I could until something full-time opened up. So that second year for sure. And then I was graduating the next year and that’s when COVID hit and there were no real job opportunities. So, I was lucky that they were having a hard time finding interns. So that third year I came back, the COVID year.”

How was that second year different?

“I settled in a little bit more and kind of started to find my voice a little bit. I wasn’t afraid to give opinions and try different things. That first year I was just so afraid to screw up. I looked up to Emily so much and I didn’t want to make an idiot of myself.”

Talk about the highlights of that second year.

“I think that second year was cool because that was [Freaky Feet] Pete’s last year on the track, and especially that first half of the year when he was still an open horse. You could tell he wasn’t the same horse, but he was still digging in and fighting. Getting to experience that; and everyone would want to talk to me about Pete up front. So, getting to see that experience play out was pretty cool.”

I’m glad you brought up Pete. Talk about the 2014, 2015 and 2016 campaigns.

“I worked for my grandfather the summer of Pete’s 2-year-old year. So, I could see the start of it. Then I went back to school, and then his 3-year-old year I started working for Matt. I got to see more of the Churita aspect a little up close [Churita raced for seven seasons, retiring a millionaire in 2020]. But it was incredible for our whole family. We had family that hadn’t been that involved in racing that were going to all the races and traveling to all these different places. It was just really cool to see my grandfather have that experience and to have the horse of his lifetime and see how much it meant to him. We were just so incredibly tight at that time. It was a special, special time.”

The 2015 season, in particular, turned into the dream season with the Breeders Crown win.

“Yeah, the way it played out, he could have gone to the Meadowlands Pace and North America Cup. And I think he would have done okay. But the way it worked out, staying here in Indiana, and then the goal all year long was to get to the Breeders Crown. And for it to all work out like it did, it just made it all worth it. To beat Wiggle It Jiggleit towards the end of that year, and those two really good races. Like I said, to get to see my grandfather and my dad have that moment, that’s something I’ll never forget.”

The next season was tough. You lose your grandpa to a heart attack the night Freaky Feet Pete raced second in the Hoosier Park Pacing Derby.

“Yeah, it’s one of those things, the first half of the year was incredible. Pete became a world champion at Pocono and had those battles with Wiggle It Jiggleit and some of the others. And then Pete started to get a little banged up. The night at Hoosier Park when grandpa passed away, it’s one of those things you look back on now, we should all be so lucky to go out like that. The last thing he saw was Freaky Feet Pete going out to the track to warm up. It was hard for the rest of us, but glad that he had that experience at the end of his life, and made it all kind of worth it. Like I said, a brutal, brutal night for all of us, but when you put it all in perspective, like my dad said, he was talking to Jimmy Takter, who was in the paddock, and hooked up to go to the track, just proud as a peacock and that was it. I’m just glad for him that he had the experience though at the end that he did. We should all be so lucky that the horse you wait your lifetime for is going to be the last thing you see.”

You mentioned the Breeders Crown earlier. Talk about the opportunity you’ve had to be a part of two Breeders Crowns at Hoosier Park.

“I didn’t get to work the 2017 edition. I worked 2020 and obviously that was unique with no fans and I didn’t get the full Breeders Crown experience. But it was also hard because there was a COVID scare in the race marketing department which left me as the only one there for Breeders Crown elims and finals. So, you’re just trying to kind of keep up and hope you’re doing everything okay. Then 2023, obviously the full gambit and you got to see it and experience it. Moira Fanning, I have just immense respect for her and all that she does, and John Campbell, probably two of the most respectable people in all of harness racing. So, it’s been pretty cool. And just to feel like you’re a part of something big, it’s one of the coolest experiences I’ve had.”

Emily stepped away last year and you moved into a different role, although you had some familiarity.

“Yeah, it was hard. It felt like big shoes to fill, but then she was also still there. So that helped. I think it helped everyone around to see that she was still guiding me in this position, and it helped me because I had someone to bounce all these things off of. I was used to doing all the admin stuff, doing more and more TV and stepping into a bigger role there. I’m not a trained broadcaster. I never have been, so I’ve been just trying to figure that out on the fly. That’s been the tricky part of it. Also, just having the confidence to run a department and come up with these different ideas and say, ‘This is what we’re going to do.’ We have a great director of marketing in Jeremy Medley, and his support there has been huge.”

Did you aspire to be in front of the camera?

“It’s something like I’d always hoped to do someday, and then as I got started as an intern in the admin, I saw how it actually worked and I’m like, ‘Man, I don’t know if I’m cut out for that.’ I think those who know me know I’m not really a big talker. I’m a pretty introverted person and pretty quiet, but I can talk racing and I will talk racing, so that’s been a big learning experience.

“Just learning to be a broadcaster, that’s been a huge learning curve. But Emily helped there, too, where she’s like, ‘You know horse racing, talk horse racing.’ Bob ‘Hollywood’ Heyden was a huge help in that too. I did the Dan Patch two years ago because Emily was doing the Fox Sports broadcast. I just got thrown into it. First time I’d handicapped with another person and it’s Bob Heyden, who for my money is the best to ever do it. I don’t think I put together a coherent sentence the first segment we did together. Finally, I kind of found my footing and Bob looks over at me and says, ‘Emily who?’ He was so patient and kind with me.”

You began to get the repetition last year being on television nightly. How did that feel?

“The repetition was big, and just getting more consistent time and figuring it out. Doing the night drive was a big help. I’m trying to find my voice and my way there. It was just repetition and trusting my horse racing knowledge and trusting my handicapping ability and the rest will kind of follow. And I think it did. Towards the end of last year, I was starting to feel better and better. especially on the weekends when we were bringing in guests every weekend, whether it be Jenna [Otten], Bob or Emily. I enjoyed that time together as we were able to bounce things off each other.”

You have a year under your belt handling television duties and running the department. What’s in store for 2025?

“I think from a marketing perspective, I keep telling Jeremy I want to take some swings that we haven’t taken in a long time. And I’ve gotten comfortable enough to. And I feel like I have enough trust with those above me to kind of take some of those swings and do some different things promotionally and for some of our big events. Television-wise, I don’t quite know what all that is going to look like right now. I hope it’s something similar to what I did last year.”

Any hints on the big swings we might see?

“When you’re looking at promotions and big events, is it going to be a driver or is it going to be a perk for people who would be there anyway? We’re trying to do some things that are going to be drivers where we’re looking at a $10,000 Dan Patch promotion or giving away a $5,000 megabet on Kentucky Derby Day or something like that. Just some bigger swings that we feel like we’re going to be able to promote. People would say, ‘Oh hey, I have a chance at $10,000, maybe I want to check that out.’ We are trying to do some more drivers as opposed to just perks.”

You will receive the Lew Barasch Breakthrough Award in Orlando on Sunday. A well-deserved honor. Share your thoughts.

“When Emily called me on Christmas Eve to let me know that I’d won, it didn’t register. I saw the other two nominees, and I saw the people who have won that award before. It’s hard to look at that and not feel like I don’t belong. It’s a huge honor, and I do really appreciate those who have supported me in this industry and put me in that position because I never expected it. It’s beyond my wildest dreams. I’m looking forward to Orlando.”

Note: As a former Hoosier Park intern, it’s exciting to see one of our own receive recognition for his hard work and dedication. Congratulations Jacob!