HOT SPRINGS, Ark. (AP) - Veterinarian Kate Hammer-Myrick starts her mornings on the back side at Oaklawn Park around 4:30 a.m., meeting with trainers and making her rounds to her patients.
“A lot like professional athletes have their team doctors, we are here to ensure these horses are at their best performance level,” she said.
The Sentinel-Record reports that Hammer-Myrick has been a veterinarian to thoroughbred race horses for 12 years. The Minnesota native said she grew up with horses and rodeoed through vet school. Her competitive nature, she said, is what drew her to treating race horses.
“A lot of these big-name horses, we’ve treated since they were babies, before anyone even knew how good they were,” she said. “You get attached to them and excited to see them win.”
While she has many stories of the rewarding work she does at the track, there are a few that stand out.
“Obviously watching Creator develop and win the Arkansas Derby here was amazing,” she said. “And then to watch him go on to win the Belmont will always be a great memory.”
With 247 thoroughbreds under 12 trainers on her list at Oaklawn, Hammer-Myrick and her assistant, Lexi Wise, spend anywhere from 80 to 90 hours each week ensuring horses are healthy and ready to race.
“She is literally an extension of myself,” she said. “I have no idea what I’d do without her work ethic, compassion for horses and humor.”
If there’s one thing this veterinarian wishes people knew about working with these athletes, it’s that the care they receive is superior.
“We do so much more than vaccinations and PRPs,” she said. “We visit our horses who aren’t feeling well, we do upper respiratory endoscopies because breathing is such an important part of racing.
“We also are capable to do out here X-rays, ultrasounds, and basically anything else we do in the clinic.”
Hammer-Myrick travels to other tracks, including Prairie Meadows and Churchill Downs, though Hot Springs is home for her now, having married a Hot Springs native, she said.
Her 18-month-old daughter Eva is her “No. 1 assistant,” she said.
“Watching my daughter interact with horses since she has been a newborn and to see her grow up around them definitely feeds my soul,” Hammer-Myrick said. “It makes me so happy to see her love for them — to watch her reach out to pet a horse and talk to them.”
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Information from: The Sentinel-Record, http://www.hotsr.com
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