Gaudet's Star Shines Bright

In the often exacting atmosphere of a sport where it has become commonplace to hear grievances about a lack of new blood, while also fielding copious complaints that nepotism runs amok, a racing media rising star has been picking up momentum and concurrently crushing said general criticisms in a thriving career that is somehow both rich with familial racing tradition and lush with fresh perspective.

Gabby Gaudet, a native of Maryland and graduate of Towson University, has been nothing short of illuminant in her multifaceted on-air analyses for Pimlico, Laurel Park, Arlington International Racecourse and Gulfstream Park over the last three years and will now continue her rapid rise by joining NYRA this summer for the launch of Saratoga Live on Fox Sports 2. A daughter of retired multiple graded stakes-winning conditioner Ed Gaudet, Gabby heads back to The Spa less than four years after writing for the Saratoga Special, her first serious racing media gig.

“I'm looking forward to returning to Saratoga because it's my favorite track,” Gaudet said, beaming. “The feeling you get when you walk on the backstretch is almost magical and there's nothing like it. On a professional level, I'm really excited to get experience working with a television network like Fox Sports 2, while also working with the best in the industry in terms of on-air hosts. I also hope that it exposes me to work for the top events like the Breeders' Cup, the Triple Crown and with networks like NBC. If the opportunity arises to dive into other sports, I'm definitely a big sports fan and am striving for that, as well.

“My dad was a trainer in the Mid-Atlantic for many years and officially retired a few years ago after we ran a horse in the Preakness,” Gaudet continued. “My mom was his right-hand woman the entire time and now is a trainer, as is my sister. I also had an uncle who trained, two aunts who were jockeys and another uncle who was a farrier–so being in racing started from birth, practically. I galloped horses for [trainers] Tim Keefe and Hamilton Smith and interned at Maryland Horse Radio, but I really started in media after my junior year of college when I went to work with Sean Clancy at the Saratoga Special. From there, the Maryland Jockey Club offered me a job doing on-air analysis during the Pimlico meet and followed that with Arlington in 2014, the 2014 Breeders' Cup with HRRN (Horse Racing Radio Network) and then worked for the Breeders' Cup itself in 2015 before joining Gulfstream Park for the Championship Meet–all the while working for the Maryland Jockey Club in the fall and spring. So, needless to say it's sort of all taken off and I feel very blessed.”

Studious in profession as she is infectious in personality, Gaudet has impressed even the most rooted of racing fans with her knowledge and performance the last few years. This past winter, in her first stretch at Gulfstream, she more than held her own with one of the game's most respected racing analysts, NYRA's Andy Serling.

“Working alongside Andy this winter really was a huge part of why Saratoga is happening,” she explained. “I had hoped Gulfstream would lead to other opportunities and it did. I learned a lot from working on air with him and also got to meet some great people in the process. I'm really thankful that the Maryland Jockey Club has been extremely supportive of me going to Gulfstream and Saratoga. They not only want what's best for their own tracks and obviously would love to have me there all year, but they also want what's best for me–and that's been really helpful and says a lot about the MJC.”

While it can obviously be helpful in a legacy-heavy industry to come from a racing family, especially in a state as entrenched in racing history as Maryland, Gaudet recognizes that the kindred coin has two sides.

“When I first started out a lot of people would say I only got jobs because my parents were trainers,” Gaudet said. “That negative connotation that I didn't work hard to get where I am is never fun to deal with. Yes, maybe it did create opportunities, but–and I hate to be corny–luck is where preparation meets opportunity and you don't get far without doing the work. Coming from a racing family can feel like an anchor with your critics, but it also gives me a perspective that not a lot of people have had and can be a springboard, too. I've experienced the hard work in the mornings with grooming, galloping and training and know how to incorporate that into analysis in the afternoon.

“I'm a perfectionist at my craft and I can be very 'Type A' when it comes to being prepared,” she continued. “I don't like the uneasy feeling of not knowing, so I do my homework. I watch replays, run stats and actually understand that, yes, in a race a horse was checked and I didn't just read it in the short comments. The people who are actually tuning in and could use that information deserve that service. I try to constantly improve in those things and I hope that I've earned respect on my own merits. But don't get me wrong–when work is over, I am the polar opposite and try to enjoy myself and live life to its fullest.”

No matter what comes of her expanded exposure on a major network in this next career cornerstone, Gaudet seems poised to prove herself even more than she has in such a short tenure. Possibly even more importantly, the 25-year-old appears to have processed and tempered her existing and past successes with diligence and maturity beyond her years.

“I just hope that I keep taking steps in the right direction and challenge myself to perfect my craft,” she concluded. “I feel very fortunate and I don't take being able to have these experiences for granted. A Travers dead-heat, watching a Triple Crown with American Pharoah, seeing the spectacle of the Arlington Million and watching big fields filled with some of the best horses in the world… being able to witness these things doesn't feel like work at all, but I am very lucky that it is.”