It was so early in the morning that I didn’t even bother to grab a cup of coffee before heading out to the track. I was meeting up with fellow saratoga living photographer Billy Francis LeRoux. We had high hopes for a foggy morning and a foggy morning we received! This is the kind of detail that photographers dream about. In fact, I think I did dream about it the previous night.
After a few shots at the main track, we headed across the street to the Oklahoma Training Track along with a caravan of backstretch workers. As the sky grew lighter, horses and humans alike began waking up to the day. Riding tack was donned and the horses and riders casually paraded out to the Oklahoma Track, where a thick white fog (and friendly media photographers!) awaited.
And we felt welcomed, too! Greetings of “Hello” and “Good morning” went a long way. Even the horses took note when we raised our cameras; one of my favorite photographs from the morning is of the horse peeking over the hay and smiling for me!
It was definitely worth waking up early just to photograph the horses training in that beautiful fog. But there was something else that made it even more worth it: the sense of community.
For more track photography from Katie Dobies, click here.