Renee Samson loves being paid to play with horses all day

by Chris Lomon

As she watched the action unfold — both on and off the racetrack — Renee Samson couldn’t help but envision a much younger version of herself.

About four years ago, at the suggestion of a friend, Samson visited Woodbine Mohawk Park for an evening of racing and a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the world of standardbred horses and horsepeople.

She had no idea that night would change her life.

“I knew I liked the sport the first time I went to Mohawk,” recalled Samson, who hails from Morriston, ON. “I wasn’t even a groom at that point. I just tagged along with one of my buddies that night. It was just unbelievable.”

A visit to the paddock proved to be an eye-opening experience.

“Watching my friend get his horse ready, seeing all the sights and sounds – it was just amazing,” she said. “Watching the horse warm up, the countdown to post time and seeing him race, it was all so cool. It was so action-packed.”

That night sparked a question.

“I asked him, ‘You actually get paid to do this?’” Samson said. “He talked about what he did – going to the barn in the morning, jogging the horses, feeding them, taking care of them, and then racing them. I said, ‘So, you get paid to play with horses all day?’ That was my 8-year-old self and my biggest dream back then, that I would be able to be around horses from sunup until sundown.”

Not long after that visit, Samson began her journey in harness racing as a groom.

Over the past four years, she has worked with several of the sport’s top trainers, including Carmen Auciello, Dave Menary, Scott McEneny, Teesha Symes, and Rick Zeron.

“I started as a test inspector at Georgian Downs and then I moved back home from Midland with the intention of working at Flamboro Downs, but decided instead to become a groom, which I did around September of 2021,” Samson said. “A couple months later, I jogged my first horse — and of course, I loved it — and I kept on doing that while I was working for Teesha Symes. I worked for a few other people and did some fill-in jobs, and then I landed with Larry Menary.”

Larry needed help with stalls and turnouts, which gave Samson steady work until the young horses were transferred to his son, trainer Dave Menary.

“Dave then asked me to work with him,” Samson said. “That sent me to work at Classy Lane. Working with Dave, I learned so much. I then made my way over to work with Rick Zeron.”

With Zeron, Samson had more chances to jog horses, and even got to experience her first training mile.

It didn’t go quite as planned.

“[Veteran horseman] Rheal Bourgeois took me for my first training mile,” she said. “I didn’t really want to, but he convinced me to give it a try. It didn’t go very well – the horse, she was a baby, was very slow.”

Samson’s career, however, was gaining momentum.

She soon added owner to her résumé.

“A baby sale was going on, so my partner, Carl and I, we bought two babies from the sale, and we also have a homebred together,” she said. “Since then, I haven’t really worked for anyone, other than doing stalls and the odd fill-in day here and there.”

After a few more successful training miles, Samson began considering her next step.

“I thought, ‘Okay, I have been doing this going on four years and I’d like to be a trainer,’” she said. “So, I took the test, studied hard and passed – this was late January. I was learning so much.”

All she needed now was a horse to help kick off her training career.

Enter Bookie Baby – a familiar face.

“Two weeks after my trainer’s test, Bookie Baby was up for sale and I thought, ‘Why not?’” she said. “I had seen her over the years in the barn of [owner] Francis Guillemette, with trainer Tyler Schlatman, because I did stalls for Tyler in the morning. The odd time, I would feed the horses, and she would just look at me with this almost rude look on her face.”

Despite their frosty early encounter, Samson felt the 9-year-old daughter of Sportswriter out of the Rambaran mare Borderlinegorgious was the right choice for her first horse as a licensed trainer.

The price was right for the Wall Tyme Stables-bred miss.

“I was in the barn one day and I was told the owner was looking to sell her,” Samson said. “He wanted $4,000 for her. Twenty-four hours later, I bought her and was walking across the track to pick her up.”

The bay mare with 198 starts has raced 14 times for Samson, with her best results a pair of seconds, including a 35-1 runner-up effort in May at Flamboro.

While the results have varied, Bookie Baby has proven to be a priceless addition to Samson’s stable.

“She’s older and a free-legged pacer,” said Samson, who owns a baby who qualified, but had to be shut down and also sold a half-interest in another bay she owns. “I figured I’ll work with her to figure her out and she will help me with my racing education. She has stayed flat in all the starts that I have had her. We’re learning this together.”

One thing Bookie Baby never lacks is top-tier care.

“Teesha told me to treat every horse the same way, that it doesn’t matter if they are a claimer or racing in a $1 million race,” Samson said. “Anything you would do for that million-dollar horse you would do for any horse in your barn. Every horse is treated as if they are a Breeders Crown winner.”

For now, Samson is focused on sharpening her horsemanship skills and chasing her first training win.

Short-term, she hopes to obtain her full trainer’s license.

“I have to do a rated mile and I don’t have a horse who can do that for me,” she said. “I will not train Bookie in 2:20 – she would run off with me. I want to get my full trainer’s license and a win under my belt. It would be perfect if that came with Bookie.

“Long term, I would like to have my own stable. I wouldn’t want anything in the 20s. I think around 10 horses maximum would be ideal. A good, solid stable, but nothing too large. I like to be hands-on. If it got too big, I wouldn’t have that personal connection.”

When she’s not caring for Bookie Baby or watching races at tracks across Southwestern Ontario, Samson, who plans to use burgundy and gray as her training colors, embraces a quieter side of life.

As for hobbies, one of her favorites might not be characterized as such, but she is just fine with that.

“Is napping a hobby?” she said. “I like to nap and I like to color – the adult coloring books. It’s nice to sit down with a cup of hot chocolate, turn on your favorite show and just relax.”

The kind of simple pleasures her 8-year-old self would be proud of.