Today
J.J.'s dream run: taking a slow route to the fast lane
Print
Share
Email to a friend
Add This
Article RatingOdds were stacked against J.J. ever being able to carry a rider, let alone win a race at the track.
Lorah Wax remembers walking into the stable and saying to those present, "This is not the horse."
It was July 2006 and she was at Penn National Race Course to buy the 4-year-old thoroughbred mare.
No one wanted Wax to fail as a trainer, but they were skeptical for good reason. It did not look good for J.J.
The rigors of competition left the sprint racer with two very sore legs, one of them previously had a cracked shin. The horse needed time off, but her owner could not afford to put her up in a stall for months.
This was compounded by a mysterious allergic reaction that left the animal bald. Exposed, her hide was irritated and pocked with sores.
"She looked as though she had been in a fire," recalls Wax, 25, of West Pennsboro Township. "But she had this great look about her. Her eyes could see through you."
In her eyes, Wax could see determination, drive and energy on the hoof. Though J.J. was suffering, she was ready to go and still very hyper from her life in the fast lane.
"Everybody called her a spitfire," Wax recalls. "I was told she was a witch to ride and had an ornery streak, but I never had a problem with her."
Wax took J.J. back to the family farm where she runs her own business called Dreamers Run Stables. The name says it all for horses in need of a new home and purpose in life.
In four years, Wax has saved about 120 horses from race tracks -- taking in thoroughbreds who are injured or too slow to be competitive in racing.
"I like to take the horses people think do not have a shot," Wax explains. "They deserve another chance. It can be a challenge on so many levels."
Her goal is to work hard to rehabilitate each horse, market them based on ability and then find each animal a good home.
"The horse has a lot of say in this," Wax says. "People think horses are just dumb animals, but they are like people. Each is unique and memorable in its own way."
Wax has a natural affinity for the animals going back to age 9 when she started to ride horses. She competed heavily in show jumping, cross country and dressage, a series of movements often described as dancing with your horse.
A 1999 graduate of Big Spring High School, Wax moved to North Carolina where she learned how to train horses from members of the U.S. Olympic equestrian team. Her focus turned to training thoroughbred horses, which lead to her career as a business owner which started in 2003, shortly after she moved back to the Newville area.
While she finds her job rewarding, it can be sad sometimes to say goodbye to the horses she helped to rehabilitate. But Wax takes comfort knowing she can help another horse come back from the brink.
Right away, Wax knew J.J. was special. There was something about her personality that convinced Wax to keep her as a pet and eventually a racehorse.
"J.J. is all business," Wax says. "She loves to work and loves the attention."
For the first two to three months, Wax had to confine J.J. to a stall and block the only window. She did not want the horse with sensitive skin to get sunburn.
"I gave her a bath everyday with medicated shampoo," Wax recalls. "Now she has a beautiful coat."
Slowly, Wax worked with J.J. to treat the soreness in her legs and build up the muscle. A pampered life away from racing calmed the horse down, but the mare was determined to run.
At the most, Wax thought J.J. could be used for breeding even though there was nothing particularly special about her blood-line. Wax soon learned the horse had other plans.
Months of conditioning followed with J.J. gradually working up the strength to move from her stall to a paddock to a full gallop out in the field. The more attention J.J. got, the more spunky she became, the more hope Wax had that the mare could make a comeback in racing.
Wax continued to work with J.J., getting the mare used to carrying a rider, before taking her to train at Penn National. Wax saw so much improvement, she decided to give J.J. a chance.
Wax recruited jockey Rely Carpio to develop a rapport with J.J. before her first race in early June. The jockey thought the mare had a promising future, but it took time for J.J. to "get back in the groove," Wax said. "She came back for a lot. She had been off for 10 months."
In her early career, J.J. had nine races at Charlestown Race Course, placing second in one race, third in another, but never finishing below sixth place in a field of 10 horses.
In her first race in her comeback, J.J. placed fourth at Penn National. There was a scare during her second race when she stumbled out of the gate, but the mare recovered to move around the outside and come in third place.
J.J. followed through, placing second in her third race before winning altogether in a race on Aug. 2 -- proving all her skeptics wrong. Now J.J. is taking care of Wax who has ambitions of someday taking the mare to even tougher races.
For now, the wild and restless J.J. is going to have to settle for Charlestown. Plans are in the works to have her race at the same track as her brothers and sisters.
One advantage J.J. enjoys over other racehorses is down time between races at the Wax family farm where she can relax, romp with friends and just be a horse.
"The racing life can be so intense," says Wax, who thanks family and friends for all their help and support in making another Dreamers Run possible.
