The Blue Chip: Former WNBA Star Uncovers Equine Security Career At Gulfstream

Tracy Reid needed a job. It was 2011 and she was back in her hometown of Miami after rupturing her Achilles tendon for the second time. Trying to put the pain and the disappointment behind her, it was tenacity driving her hope that she could return to the only career she ever had–playing the game of basketball.

In the interim though, bills were stacking up, her savings account was moving towards the point of exhaustion and the reality of everyday life was coming to collect. Reid happened to see a job for a security position and so she cobbled together a resume, left her high tops at home and went to Gulfstream Park.

“I think that when they interviewed me, they were a little taken aback that I had absolutely no experience whatsoever,” said Reid. “I wasn't from law enforcement and I hadn't worked at a gate or at a concert. But I told them that I was a team player, that I knew all about how to get along with others and they took a chance on me.”

The security guard job was for a spot on the track's backside and it is probably safe to say that there have not been many applicants like Reid. Probably few walked through the door with 'college national player of the year finalist' on it, or for that matter, 'WNBA pro' who won the league's first rookie of the year prize. Yes, that is the same award superstar Caitlin Clark just garnered after the 2024 season.

“I definitely was uniquely overqualified is what they told me, but hey, any job is a good job,” she said. “I was ready to work and when I found out I was going to be on the backside at a racetrack, I had no clue what I was getting into. I had never been around horses and never been to any races in my life.”

What Reid lacked in security experience she made up for when it came down to the all-important category of fostering relationships. Playing the sport of basketball from a young age to the highest level, the blue chip was used to solving problems, being a role player and learning when it was time to handle the basketball.

“I had never worked a day in my life anywhere, so when I became a stable officer, it was a revelation and it was the opportunity to learn about Thoroughbreds and horse racing,” she said. “So, what started out as a seasonal position checking credentials and health certificates became so much more, as I talked to vets, trainers and learned who the owners were. I fell in love with it.”

Reid (left) checking medications at Joe Catanese's Gulfstream barn | courtesy of Tracy Reid

It did not take Reid long to identify with the equine athletes she was surrounded by and develop a healthy respect for the challenges that they face every day. As she says, Thoroughbreds are something that she gravitated to from the beginning.

“So much of it was relatable,” Reid said. “So, I really started to get into it, and it was something that I was like, I'm glad I'm in this area because I couldn't see myself being indoors. At the time I was in rehab [for my Achilles] and trying to get myself into playing shape. I was just like one of those horses trying to get back to racing.”

In fact, Reid was a blue-chip prospect out of Miami Central High School and she received an athletic scholarship to the University of North Carolina where the small forward collected a trove of hardware during her time in Chapel Hill from 1994 to 1998. Among her many accomplishments on the hardwood, the All-American was a two-time ACC player of the year and her senior season was marked by a trip to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament. Before the start of the second season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), Reid was made the seventh pick by the Charlotte Sting.

“The transition into the pros was so easy,” she said. “The reason why is because, and as you can see with Caitlin Clark, you're literally coming right off of your [college] season, so you haven't had a break yet, which worked in my case because I didn't have the opportunity to get out of shape and have to get into shape to play in the WNBA.”

After averaging nearly 14 points a game, she was named the league's top rookie. However, Reid entered a whole new world at the end of that first year, as she was forced to manage everything from her diet to decisions about potential treatments that could help stave off future injuries. With a season that lasts only during the summer, the challenges for league members are legion.

“I let the doctor in Charlotte convince me to clean out my knee,” said Reid. “I didn't feel like I needed it, but he thought that it would help me, so I skipped the chance to go play overseas. Then from there, I don't think I healed properly after the surgery. I came back to training camp the next year and got injured almost immediately. And so that was the struggle for me, as I tried to move forward in the league.”

Beat down and unable to eclipse what became a series of nagging injuries, Reid would make progress by playing in Europe during the offseason. However, after three years in Charlotte where she played with the likes of WNBA legend and current University of South Carolina Coach Dawn Staley, her grinding pro career began to take its toll after stops in Miami, Phoenix and Houston.

Reid said, “I've always spoken to potential athletes about my story, and counseled them about what it means to essentially be your own boss. The money is great, but what ends up happening is your body is on a clock. Coaches have their own jobs on the line and that creates a tremendous amount of pressure on you as an athlete to get back out on the court.”

Tracy Reid the Miami Sol | Scott Troyanos/Allsport/Getty Images

According to the former rookie who sparkled her first season, thinking about her own injuries has directly helped her understand exactly what equine athletes go through. That is why she says it is imperative for humans to do everything possible to protect a horse's integrity because no one else is going to do it.

“So it's about these beautiful animals,” she said. “Here on the backside, I learned it is just like a village and it's our job to keep everyone here safe. This is such a unique security position we are in. I use my background in basketball all of the time. When people at Gulfstream found out I used to play in the WNBA, they started treating me differently and I think the level of respect that I have built comes from them knowing that I am a leader. Leaders do what they do, they lead, and I am all about treating everyone with that same level of understanding.”

Reid quickly elevated her security game at The Stronach Group's track since joining the staff as a part-time employee. Leaving to coach high school for a spell, she returned when a supervisor positioned opened up, which eventually led to her becoming the security manager of the entire backside and also the training facility at Palm Meadows.

Under her watchful eye during Gulfstream's Championship Meet she oversees roughly 1,530 Thoroughbreds who are spread across some 112 trainers. Reid is the floor leader of around 60 staff members, who cover everything from the stable gate to the barns to the frontside during racing.

When it comes time to hiring new security personnel, she always remembers what it was like to be on the other side of the desk answering posed questions.

“I don't go on resumes,” Reid said. “I'm an interviewer. I'm the type of person who forms my own opinions on my interactions with the person I'm hiring. This is a communication skills job and we are all about a team background. I'm more interested in people that work well with others because this is all about customer service. We aren't bouncers at a strip club.”

With the WBNA thriving and players like Caitlin Clark filling the seats like never before, the league's very first rookie of the year has built her own stellar career in the arena of equine security.

Donning a different kind of uniform each day, Tracy Reid certainly found a home on the backside for that unique skill set that she honed on the basketball court. There is nothing like having a blue chip like her on your team.