We caught up with Tom just after he won the first race of the day. He was pumped up more than I was (although I had just won a whopping $7.00 on him). His most valuable lesson? That you can’t run the race before it starts. We think this applies to more than horseracing. Maybe Tom was getting deep on us.
TrackPack: So you really tore up the track there. Congrats! You know you were going to win?
Tom Clifton: Well the horse I was on always shows great speed coming out of the gate. Another horse came out faster but I knew he was going to slow... so I inherited the lead and by the 8th pole, I knew the race was mine.
You learn to shake it off... you have to have a short memory
- Tom Clifton, Jockey
TP: Did you know this horse?
TC: Yeah, I rode her last week. We were leading and I gave her a little hit with the whip and she pulled back and sulked. She sent me a message.
TP: Do you discuss the strategy with trainer?
TC: Definitely. Every horse is different though. You have a game plan going in but you can’t script a whole race before you run it. You need to know what the horse will do, what the competition will do and just be smart. You can’t run the race before it starts.
TP: So this win today was one win short of 2000?
TC: Yep, that was 1999.
TP: So give us your stats.
TC: 41 years old, 5’5” and I weight 112 pounds.
TP: (Oh and, ladies, he’s single.) So how long have you been racing?
TC: I started at the track in 1990 in California. But I live in Central PA now, right outside Harrisburg.
TP: Neat. Whatcha love about the area?
TC: Really everything. It’s home for me.
TP: So you race all over?
TC: I used to. Now I race mostly all over Pennsylvania. Great tracks here. And, Penn National has the mountains in the background - beautiful place to go to work. And the turf course here (the grass course in the infield) is one of the nicest turf courses in America.
TP: Did you always want to be a jockey?
TC: Well my mother was from Kentucky and my grandfather was jockey so I started getting on horses when I was 3 to 4 years old. But I didn’t race competitively until I was 22. I thought I would outgrow it.
TP: Literally or figuratively?
TC: Literally. I was this height in high school and assumed I’d grow more. But I didn’t. 5”5” is a great height for a jockey and I maintain a steady weight. So this is the sport for me.
TP: You race about 4-5 races a day. Hard to keep your focus?
TC: Absolutely not. If you can’t keep your focus out there, you shouldn’t be riding. I’m single-minded every race... no matter what’s going on in my life.
TP: So I guess you're competitive by nature.
TC: (Laughs) Oh yeah. I actually have to watch myself around kids, I get so intense. I would get upset if I lost a game of tidily winks.
TP: I never learned that game but I’ll take your word for it. And if you lose?
TC: You learn to shake it off. It took me 3-4 years to learn how to deal with not winning. You have to have a short memory – you might have to go out and ride the very next race.
TP: Anything I need to know when putting down a wager?
TC: Look at the program. If the horse is a speed horse, look who he’s racing against. Or any track biases. Make sure the field is set up to go your horse's way.
TP: How long did you race before you won your first one?
TC: Hmmm... about 25 races. Before that I was just a bug boy.
TP: Whaa?? Bug what?
TC: Bug boy. It means you’re in your apprentice/first year. You get an asterisks next to your name in the program... and that looks like a little bug. Hence 'bug boy'.
Wow, TrackPack learns something new every day!
