Harness racing is picture perfect to Wendy Lowery
by Chris Lomon
Wendy Lowery had never imagined focusing her life on horse racing — until one day, she did.
For the past four years, soon to be the start of five, Lowery, who hails from Chili Center, NY, has been capturing picture-perfect moments as the track photographer at Batavia Downs.
“I have been a photographer for over 20 years,” Lowery said. “My daughter has a love of horses and I started covering some of her stuff when she was doing barrel racing and I just loved it.”
It was Lowery’s husband, Andy, who first introduced her to standardbred racing.
“Andy’s father trained horses, so he took me to the track,” she said. “I was always interested in thoroughbreds, but I didn’t know much about standardbreds. He brought me into that world.”
The photographer in Wendy marveled at what she saw the first time she sat in the Batavia grandstand.
Each sight and sound resonated with her.
“It was love at first sight,” she recalled. “The excitement of watching the horses and the bravery of the drivers was incredible. You would never catch me doing that.”
Capturing it, however? That would be a different story.
Her photographic association with racing started through the lens of a fan.
It began with a simple question and a promise.
“I asked the general manager of the racetrack at the time if I could bring my camera,” Wendy said. “I wouldn’t charge or sell my photos – I only wanted to post them so people could know more about the sport.”
Horsepeople, at Batavia and beyond, quickly praised her posts, grateful to have someone new to their circle highlighting their passion for racing and racehorses.
In 2021, an unexpected opportunity arose.
“When the track photographer decided to retire, my name was mentioned by Shawn McDonough, one of the trainers there, who we know,” Wendy said.
The idea of taking pictures, in photography parlance, clicked with Wendy.
Her images run the gamut from winner’s circle shots to candid moments.
It is the latter that resonates the most with Wendy.
“Nothing against the winner’s circle photos, but I love meeting the horsepeople — grooms, trainers, and others — and being right in there with them and showing everything that they do.
“You can see the love these people have for horses. I am watching the grooms snuggling the horses as they are getting them ready, giving them hugs and kisses. It is just incredible.”
Her favorite race pictures to take happen when sunshine and blue skies are absent.
“I know the drivers hate it, but I love those rainy shots with the mud flying,” she said. “They will give me a dirty look, but they make for fun photos.”
As do the close-up captures that she takes of pacers and trotters.
“It’s also incredible when you showcase the muscles on the horses, how strong and athletic they are,” she said.
One of the most cherished aspects of her job is highlighting those who often work behind the scenes.
Putting them in the spotlight is Wendy’s specialty.
“I try to get to know everyone who is in the paddock,” she said. “It’s not just about what happens in the winner’s circle but seeing people so ecstatic when their horse wins is a great part of my job. A lot of people put so much effort into those wins.
“It makes me happy that the photos I post show people seeing what I see.”
There is one photo that has eluded Wendy so far.
It is a moment she hopes to frame and hang in her family home one day.
“I would love to take a photo of my own horse winning,” she said. “My husband and I bought three babies last year and we have one, Filet Mignon, trained by Jim Rothfuss, racing right now. It’s a lot of fun. She has been second for us, but we haven’t got that first win with her yet.”
Should it happen, Wendy will have plenty of familiar faces joining her in the winner’s circle for the milestone celebration.
And while it was her husband who brought her into racing, Wendy, who has seven grandchildren, is emphatically embracing her role as an unofficial ambassador of harness racing.
“I have had my daughter, granddaughter, and friends come out to watch the races with us,” Wendy said. “My husband is a big supporter of mine, the person who nudged me in this direction, so I’m happy to do the same for other people.”
Wendy is also looking to expand her life behind the lens.
“There is nothing else I would rather do,” she said. “I cover some fairs, like Dunkirk and Goshen. They asked me to do them last year and again this year. I would love to travel more and cover more tracks.”
Away from the races, family trips, angling, and a certain barnyard animal occupy her time.
“We like to travel and we like to fish,” she said. “We have some goats, so we are looking to expand our farm a little bit more.”
Add in a full-time job — she is a supervisor/technician at a local Walmart pharmacy — and her life is rarely at a standstill.
But that is anything but a burden for Wendy, who has found her happy place amid the action and excitement that comes with standardbred racing.
It has been an unexpected, but treasured path to the finish line and other places at the racetrack.
“It absolutely has been – and it’s the best journey in the world,” she said. “My husband and I are finally here. This is going to be my retirement job when I leave the pharmacy.”
And those posts she shares on Facebook, they will continue to, in every way, showcase Wendy’s deep admiration for horsepeople and their craft.
“I don’t even have the words for it,” she said. “This sport is amazing and there is so much that goes into it that people don’t see. So, if I can show others what it means to them, it gives me the greatest joy. I just feel so fortunate to be in a position to share that.”
