mentors

Several new faces were on the Keeneland sales grounds this week as part of the initial pilot for the Amplify Horse Racing Mentorship Program. This August, the three-month program launched with a group of 12 mentees hailing from eight different states. While most mentor-mentee pairs were separated by distance and initially planned on holding their meetings virtually, several mentees expressed an interest in meeting their mentors in person and decided to make the trip to Lexington for their first visit to the Keeneland September Sale. Matt Scull, age 23, lives...

Amplify Horse Racing, founded in 2019 as an initiative to welcome and educate newcomers about the Thoroughbred industry, has launched a mentorship program aimed at pairing young adults with Thoroughbred industry professionals. Objectives include improving accessibility into the Thoroughbred industry and developing understanding of what it is like to work in the sport by leveraging the experience of current industry professionals. The program is open to individuals between the ages of 18 and 22 who have a strong interest in a career in the Thoroughbred industry. No experience is required....

Who has been the biggest inspiration in your career and why? DL: I find this question very difficult to answer. Like most in the industry, I have been lucky enough to work with a wide range of people over the years. I like to think I have picked up things from many of them. Coming from a non-horsey but sporty family background, it was my parents who encouraged me to 'beg, borrow and steal' ponies to ride and fostered the belief that if you want something enough, you will work...

Who has been the biggest inspiration in your career? CB: I've been very lucky to have worked for great people along the way. Ken Bolger got me started in Redmondstown. Sally Carroll was a huge influence and gave great encouragement to so many of us who came through her hands at the Irish National Stud. Likewise, Clodagh Kavanagh and Joe Osborne from the Godolphin Flying Start Programme opened up so much for me. I worked for Dermot Cantillon for seven years and there's no doubt I learned many a lesson...