Riding In The Fog...
Billy Don Wainscott is the racetrack outrider at the nearest racetrack to Carson City — Cal Expo in Sacramento. It's a very tough and sometimes dangerous job. Billy Don has to work under many types of weather conditions...His job is vital to the safety of harness drivers their racehorses, and everyone trackside. A panicky horse pulling a empty sulky at 35 mph is very, very dangerous.
Billy Don was previously a racehorse jockey. He has great skills riding on horses. Billy Don has a important job as a racetrack outrider. He helps keep the harness horses steady before the race starts, and if there is any problem with a horse or it's equipment, it's his job to get control of the horse. His horse has to be very fast and smart.
If there is broken equipment, or a racing accident, sometimes a racehorse will panic, and it's Billy Don's job to help the harness driver retain or regain control of a horse.
While he was a race jockey, Billy Don rode the famed mule racing champion Black Ruby for three of her 71 wins. According to the NY Times, "To say that Black Ruby is the Secretariat of racing mules is a bit unfair. Secretariat never won 70 races, nor was he named Champion of his breed five straight times. He did not hold the world record in three distances. Black Ruby has done that and more. She is one fast mule."
Black Ruby raced successfully from age four to age sixteen, when the American Mule Racing Association mandates racing retirement. Mule races include males and females racing against each other. Given the mixed field, Black Ruby's successes are even more impressive. She was called the fastest racing mule of all time, by publications world wide, from the Racing Form to Sports Illustrated. Black Ruby enjoyed a long career, she raced 119 times, and had 70 wins, 22 seconds, and 15 thirds.
Often when she raced, 'Ruby was a big wagering favorite — returning 10 or 20 cents to the dollar in her wins.
More photo images at www.randomnevada.blogspot.com Harness Racing Photography at http://www.calexpoharness.blogspot.com/
Racing Information for Cal Expo at http://calexpoharness.com/