Harness racing has literally been a party for Courtney Baginski
by Chris Lomon
Looking back, caretaker Courtney Baginski knew the racetrack was a special place from the moment she closed her eyes and blew out her birthday candles.
While most kids her age celebrated in backyards, bowling alleys, arcades, or indoor playgrounds, the young girl from Hamburg, NY, chose a different venue for her special day: the racetrack.
“I had birthdays at Buffalo Raceway for the longest time, making my friends go with me,” Baginski said. “At the time, Buffalo had a great clubhouse restaurant, with an amazing buffet. My mom was friends with the manager at the time, Chris, and he knew us very well. Whenever we watched the races from the restaurant, he would bring me an ice cream sundae. For my birthday, we would put tables together and there would be a whole bunch of us. We would go down and watch the races, our parents would bet horses we picked – we were just kids having a great time at the races. It was great.”
Baginski’s childhood ties to horses were the best of both worlds, so to speak.
Her grandfather, Russ Loiacano, owned both standardbred and thoroughbreds, which meant she spent time around both breeds.
“I am essentially a third-generation horseperson,” she said. “My mom was never really in the business, but she would always take us to the track to watch her father’s horses. He lived in Canada, so he could come here, pick us up on the weekends and we would go to the races. Those are some of my earliest memories of racing. We would feed peppermints to the horses at Buffalo Raceway and then go up to Fort Erie and feed the horses peppermints there and then stay at his place for the weekend.”
Eventually, Baginski began to feel more drawn to the horse racing life.
The road to the backstretch was anything but linear.
“When my grandfather passed away in 2008, my sister [Sierra Smith] and I stepped back from riding horses and being around horses for a while,” Baginski said. “When I was about 10, we were gifted a standardbred named Big Russ and Us, who was bought by some of my grandpa’s best friends out of the Morrisville sale.”
Baginski saw a certain familiar trait between the bay son of Pro Bono Best (NY), who was bred in Kentucky by Walnut Hall Limited, and her grandfather.
“This horse was just as stubborn as my grandfather,” she said with a laugh. “He never made it to the races. He would go three-quarters-of-a-mile and then just stick his toes in and do whatever he could to get the person out of the jog cart. He went through seven trainers, he was in Ohio, Pennsylvania – he just could not go. My sister and I broke him and we would ride him. You would get on him, get launched off and then get right back on and keep going. We still have him to this day. He’s living a good life as our pasture pet. He’s bonded with my niece and nephew now. They go out and feed him carrots and spend some nice time with him.”
Moments like those played a role in bringing her back to the standardbred life.
“Right before I turned 16, my sister started working at the racetrack again,” Baginski said. “She was having so much fun, which made me get involved. And that was how I felt most connected to my grandfather, being at the racetrack. I was so happy to get that connection back.”
For the past seven years, Baginski has worked in the barn of leading trainer Sam Smith, who is married to her sister.
Together, the trio run a 30-horse stable in Western New York.
“They are great to work for,” Baginski said. “It’s a very fun environment and we have really great people who help us, including Frank Petrelli, Jr., who jogs for us. Working with my sister can have good days and bad days. We can butt heads on occasion, but we are each other’s emotional support humans. We follow each other around and help one another out.”
Most days, it is a necessity.
“It’s a big stable, so it can be a challenge to keep up with all that is needed,” Baginski said. “The goal is to always make sure the horses are happy and healthy.”
Baginski’s contributions to the operation’s success extends beyond her caretaker duties.
“I get the horses ready in the mornings, help with stalls here and there, but I don’t jog the horses,” she said. “With only three of us in the barn, that just wouldn’t work. We paddock six at the most each night, but if there are more, we look for someone to help us out. There’s always so much to do throughout the day and the races at night, but we always find a way to stay on top of things.”
Then there is Out On Bail, a 9-year-old son of Western Terror, who holds status as Baginski’s current heart horse.
“I started working for the stable right around the time he came in,” she said. “He’s a wonderful horse, a war horse, who is just so consistent. He is the most personable, lovable horse. The minute you go into his stall, he nuzzles you and plays with you. He has the biggest heart in the barn.”
Baginski hopes to have a horse just like Out On Bail in her own barn one day.
“I would like to get my trainer’s license,” she said. “That’s my goal and what I would like to achieve.”
She has had no shortage of help and support from fellow horsepeople as she continues her horse racing education.
“I have been so lucky to have a lot of trainers who have helped me,” she said. “Sam, obviously, Shawn McDonough, who I paddocked for before I worked for Sam, Missy and Jim Rothfuss have helped me a lot, letting me work with their babies and learning about new racing equipment. Tommy Mays taught me how to ship and let me ship horses for a summer, which allowed me to go to Tioga, Vernon, and Goshen, for the fair finals with his horses.”
Outside of the barn, Baginski can be found in the dugout and on the diamond.
“I am really big on volunteering, community, and giving back,” she said. “When I was a kid, I taught therapeutic riding lessons to kids who have challenges. I did that for a long time. Unfortunately, my schedule got so busy that I had to step away from that. This year, I am coaching a 10u softball team. The girls are just so fun to work with. After a long day at the barn, getting to be around 10-year-old kids who have a lot of energy brings your day up and gives you your energy back.”
She has the same deep appreciation for her parents.
“I am so thankful for my mom and dad,” Baginski said. “They have supported me throughout all of this and let me homeschool so I could graduate early to work full-time in the barn. They also watch my Great Dane every day I am at work and working late nights. They always make sure I am provided for.
“Whether it’s at the racetrack or outside of that, I couldn’t hope or wish for anything better.”
It’s why happiness for Baginski doesn’t need a cake or birthday candles. It’s already in the life she treasures.
