At the age of 13, she began looking for opportunities to volunteer in an animal-centered environment. She was turned away from the local animal shelter because of her age, but she received a warm welcome at Old Friends at Cabin Creek, a popular thoroughbred retirement farm in Greenfield Center, a hamlet about 10 miles west of Saratoga Race Course.
“Horses are one of a million animals I love,” Eddy said. “I always say I would have started at Old Friends even if it had been a retirement home for frogs.”
Now 27, Eddy continues to advocate for retired Thoroughbreds by writing as a member of the communications department of the New York Racing Association, where she also covers all aspects of racing.
And this year, she can proudly add author to her resume after joining an esteemed group of racing writers who contributed to “The Racetracks of America: From the Pre-Civil War Days to the 21st Century,” a 440-page coffee table book published by the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.
Eddy’s answers have been edited for clarity and space:
Blood horse: Tell me about your experience at Old Friends?
Maria Eddy: I led tours there on my first day, which was terrifying as a 13-year-old. I talked to the audience about horses I had just met. I had a vague idea of horse racing, but I didn’t know all the terminology and I didn’t know the types of races – I didn’t know any of that. I was asked a question about something, and I said, “Well, I don’t really know. Let me look that up.” I would go home and research our retirees. I poured over everything I could find on Equibase, and then I discovered new websites. I just read everything I could. It grew from there. It made me want to absorb everything.
At Old Friends I did everything they told me to do. I held horses for the farrier. I would muck out the paddocks. I helped with backend office matters: the newsletter and the website. Working in the gift shop, you name it, anything I could do to help.
BRA: What was your first foray into writing about horse racing?
ME: My friend Connie Bush, who I met at Old Friends, was a photographer for The Saratoga Special. She told me that they had an editorial internship and that I should apply for it. I applied in January or February 2020 and sat down with (editor-in-chief) Tom Law. Then the pandemic happened. I hadn’t forgotten, but I just thought: okay, this internship is cancelled, the world has stopped. But a week before the races started, I received an email asking if I wanted to help with the publication remotely. I wrote three features for them that summer – the first time I’d ever done anything like that. The night before I had to do my interviews, I couldn’t even sleep.
The next year I was asked if I wanted to get the full experience (at The Saratoga Special) and do the actual internship. And I did, and it was like a crash course. It was years of on-site teaching in two months. It was just crazy. I just loved it. I was there every day, running around, busy, grabbing quotes and writing these notes and articles. At the end of that summer, the position I currently have at NYRA was open, and I applied, and here I am.
Mary Eddy worked at Old Friends in Cabin Creek as a teenager
BRA: What was the experience like contributing to “The Racetracks of America: From the Pre-Civil War Days to the 21st Century” for the first time?
ME: It was fun, it was a challenge, it was worth it. I’m a small part of a large, dedicated group of people putting this together. I feel very honored to see my name among that list of writers. They are a Who’s Who (of racing writers).
BRA: What racetracks have you written about and what was your research process?
ME: Ellis Park And Laurel Park. I really like old media. I like old newspapers because they give you an idea of the culture of the area. You can have a national publication that tells you how much a track handles (in betting), what races they run and the horses that won those races. But if you look at those local newspapers and local reports, you get an idea of what the area is like and how it compares to the towns around it.
BRA: With the closing of Aqueduct racecourse on the horizon, are you feeling nostalgic?
ME: My first day at NYRA was Cigar Mile Day (at Aqueduct) in 2021. Aqueduct has just been a great place for someone like me (to learn). Aqueduct is the quieter season with one race per week, compared to every day at Saratoga. For someone who was new to the (communications) department and to these types of jobs, having Aqueduct as a starting point helped me get comfortable and learn the ropes. I don’t know if I would have been as successful in this job if it hadn’t been for Aqueduct. It will always have a very special place in my heart.
BRA: Are you in your dream job?
ME: Yes, because I don’t feel like I’m working most of the time. And I think that’s the dream for everyone. This was not my expected career. I never expected that I would be able to write professionally. I’m not necessarily directly involved with animals, but I’m around them all the time, and I’m very (lucky) that I can visit stables and see horses up close and just observe and learn – I have a front row seat at the biggest race in the country. You can’t even buy an opportunity like that.
It is important that I can promote aftercare through my writing to NYRA and keep this in the conversation. I appreciate what NYRA does for aftercare, as well as the New York riders and their contributions to aftercare. It feels good when you work for a company that matches your values.
#rise #Mary #Eddy