Title: The Unsung Heroes of Maryland’s Horseracing: Meet the Outriders

Maryland’s horseracing industry employs over 20,000 people and many of the jobs you probably recognize: jockeys, trainers, and grooms. However, there are three to four people you’ll find working at each horse track and during each race who may actually be the most important, the outriders. You might call outriders the ‘cops’ of racing. They are on horseback, hanging on the side until something happens. Then they risk their lives to protect horses and riders.

One of the most well-known outriders in Maryland may be KayMarie Kreidel. She became internationally famous when she captured a runaway horse in the 2019 Preakness. Bodeexpress dumped his jockey, Juan Valazquez, right out of the gate during the 2019 race. He then took off and ran the entire track riderless. It was a very dangerous situation until KayMarie grabbed him and brought him in.

KayMarie works as an outrider at Laurel and Pimlico every day during racing season. Her days begin at 5:00 a.m., which means she gets to the track by 4:30. She has a stock of four horses and says, "I can tell you right now, I could not do my job if I did not have the stock that I have. My horses make me the outrider that I am. They’ve saved my life more times than I could count."

What does an Outrider do?
When 400 to 500 horses work out at the tracks during the morning, they are in charge of safety. Sometimes they accompany a young, skittery horse around the track, while other times, they help bring in a horse that’s running out of control. They ensure every rider follows the rules of the track and report the ones who don’t.

In the mornings, they hang out at the side and wait to be needed, and in the afternoon, they take on the same role during racing. If a jockey gets dumped, they check on them. "Unfortunately, if a rider gets hurt, nine out of ten times we are the first ones to the injured rider," says KayMarie. They tell the emergency crew what’s needed and what injuries to expect. During meets, the work is the same, but the decisions must be made in a split second. "I think the only thing about being an outrider is you have to be basically fearless and you have to have the quick instincts because things happen so fast," KayMarie added.

If you go to a race track, you’ll spot them by their red vests. Each outrider at any track in the country wears this red vest to be easily spotted by jockeys in trouble. "If you’re a rider, a jockey, and you’re in trouble with your horse, whatever it be, you’re running off…you can’t stop it, whatever it may be, you know you can aim for somebody in a red vest cause their job is to protect you," she added.

Passion and Partnership
The skills of the job include tremendous instincts and great horsemanship. It helps that KayMarie was formerly a jockey, although she says she’s the only outrider she knows who started that way. Most outriders are men, but you don’t have to be big or strong to be a good one. KayMarie weighs only 110 pounds and could never, by strength, corral a 1,200-pound horse. It’s more about understanding the animals, anticipating what they’ll do, and partnering with a horse that works right in tandem with you.

With each track only having two or three outriders working at any one time, it’s an elite position but one that, if you love horses, is more of a passion. KayMarie says, after figuring out expenses, she only profited $669 last year. But to her, it’s not about money. When asked how she’ll know when she can no longer do the job, she answered, "When I can’t get out of bed. I mean, I honestly love this job. I can’t imagine doing anything else but sitting on a horse for the rest of my life."