Not all of Kentucky Derby's hardest workers are in the race. Meet the escort horses

Monnie Goetz was 15 years old the year Secretariat won the 1973 Kentucky Derby.

As she watched him pull through the finish line with a record-breaking time, she thought to herself, "I'm going to get to Churchill Downs. Someday, I'm going to make it there."

Goetz, daughter of well-known horse trainer Tom Hawkins, has been a horsewoman all her life. She grew up on the Nebraska racing circuit and moved to Kentucky in 1985, bringing her pony business with her.

She didn't just make it to Churchill Downs. She became part of the famed racetrack's story.

One of only a half-dozen female trainers employed at Churchill Downs, Goetz, 63, has worked 38 Kentucky Derby races and owns more than a dozen horses. She has an extensive client list at both Churchill Downs in Louisville and Keeneland in Lexington. Her "ponies," a nickname for full-size horses who escort Thoroughbreds to the starting gate for their races, are highly requested.

Her ponies love the work they do, but Goetz just might love it more.

"I have been to a lot of racetracks in my life, but to be at Churchill Downs, I don't think there's a better racetrack to be at," she told The Courier Journal. "The energy here is so great. I've done this from 85 and 'Old Kentucky Home' still tears me up. I'm living my dream, being here. I'm good at what I do. I love what I do. And I'm blessed to be here."

Goetz gets out of bed at 3:30 in the morning on workdays to be at the track with her team, ready to pony horses out for their morning exercises. On Kentucky Derby Day, this year on May 6, that's 14 races and a very long day, keeping track of dozens of horse-and-pony pairs at a time.

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On a recent brisk Thursday morning, she tacked up with her usual well-worn fringed leather chaps and helmet and ponied out two of trainer Chad Brown's horses.

You can tell by watching her that Goetz is a skilled and confident horsewoman, straight-backed and sure as she handles both her horse and the racehorse she's guiding.

Or, as Goetz describes herself, "I been a lot of miles and it ain't been on foot."

'You have to love this job'

A lot of people think Goetz is an outrider, but she's not. Outriders are stationed during the race to help bring the winners back and help capture any racehorses who get loose. Pony people, Goetz said, are babysitters. Their job is to get each horse to the starting gate and make sure they stay relaxed. The ponies Goetz works with have to be quiet and calm to be able to steady a high-strung two-year-old.

"Most of my ponies are thoroughbreds, ex-racehorses," Goetz said. "It's their second chance at life, horses that didn't run fast enough or got hurt. But they have to be a level-headed thoroughbred. I love using a thoroughbred because they have the same stride as a racehorse. To do the job at 10 races a day, it's much easier to keep them kind of horses sound than it is your quarter horses."

One of Goetz' previous ponies was Perfect Drift, who placed third in the 2002 Kentucky Derby and earned $4.7 million as a racehorse. Goetz and Perfect Drift ponied then-favorite California Chrome in the 2014 Kentucky Derby.

This year, Goetz has a list of 14 horses to pony for the Kentucky Derby and 13 for the Kentucky Oaks. If she doesn't take them herself, she knows who is.

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"You ain't who you are without the people helping you," Goetz said. "You see what I'm saying? I want to honor them."

Mike Crowder, a longtime pony rider who sometimes works with Goetz, said some horses work better in the morning than they do in the afternoon when the track is much busier. It's the difference between a soccer practice and a soccer game.

"The biggest thing about working with racehorses is when you start out, you're basically a teacher. You're teaching that horse," he said. "You have to like it and want to do it. If you don't want to teach the kid, it's not worth doing."

Not just anyone can pony a racehorse, Crowder explained. It takes a lot of skill to be able to ride one horse and lead another, sometimes through an entire warmup, before taking them back.

"We're not out there to play," Goetz said. "It's a job. It's not a game. And I take my job very serious."

At 2,100 pounds, meet 'Harley the Magnificent'

Out of all the ponies working the backside of the track, Goetz' horse Harley, or "Harley the Magnificent," is probably the most famous.

The American Sugarbush Harlequin Draft horse is more than twice the size of a typical racehorse and three times as wide. A stunning dark Appaloosa with a spotted white blanket, Harley is a standout among Churchill Downs' working ponies. His mother is a 2,200-pound Percheron/Belgian mix, Daisy360, who stands at 17.2 hands. Now 14, Harley weighs in at 2,100 pounds.

"When I first started him, I thought the horses were going to get scared, but they love him," Goetz said. "He knows he's big, but he's like a big teddy bear. He thrives on the crowd, he loves the attention, he loves his job."

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The gentle giant has become a fan favorite and is a highly requested pony. In 2015, America's Best Racing profiled the horse, calling him "Harley the Magnificent." In 2018, Harley scored his own Breyer horse model, joining racehorse legends like American Pharaoh, Man o'War, Zenyatta and Secretariat. The model is sold in the Kentucky Derby Museum, and Harley's stall is a popular stop on the Kentucky Derby Museum's tour of the backside at Churchill Downs.

Morgan Kimberly, a tour guide at the museum, described Goetz as "really sweet and all smiles, even in the pouring rain," and said she has always been open to letting visitors see Harley.

"I would say Harley is one of, if not the only lead pony that is as sought after as the racehorses," Kimberly said. "Monnie and Harley are a dynamic duo, and the best impact she has is kind of sharing Harley with us. She'll take him over for the kids to pet him. She's one of those people who wants to foster an interest in horseracing in people who may not know about it. And people always appreciate a big, hairy beast like Harley."

Kimberly also said Harley is a "peppermint fiend." He's always looking for a snack.

Harley's first Kentucky Derby was in 2015 when he ponied Frammento to the starting gate. Over the years, he has ponied many famous horses to their starting positions, including Essential Quality in 2021 and Tiz the Law in 2020.

"I can walk through the grandstands going into the paddock at Keeneland and they're screaming his name," Goetz said. "It's great. And he's a poser. When people are taking pictures he perks his ears and he knows it's happening."

Harley isn't always at Churchill Downs, because he and Goetz work at both Churchill Downs and Keeneland. While Goetz used to travel to other circuits, these days she stays in Kentucky. After the pressure of the racing season is over, Goetz gets the afternoons off to enjoy her farm in Mt. Washington with her many dogs and ponies.

As for what's next, well, that'll come when it comes.

“Everyone talks like, when are you ever going to retire? I don’t talk about retiring," Goetz scoffed. "When they run me off that racetrack, I guess.”

Reach features reporter Dahlia Ghabour at dghabour@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Derby's hardest workers aren't in the race. Meet the companion horses