Breeders' Cup Connections: How Jeramie Fennell Found Redemption on Horseback

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00:00I grew up in Fort Pierce, South Dakota and my dad, he was in the quarter horse industry

00:21and I'd go to school and everybody asked me what I was going to grow up and I said I'm

00:24going to grow up as a jockey.

00:26And then when I turned 16, I started riding races and traveling with the horse racing

00:30industry.

00:31I was always a bigger rider because my body frame is not built to be 118 pounds and I

00:37started taking into doing drugs, drinking alcohol and stuff and it took a toll on me.

00:44And one day I said, God, just show me something, a sign to get help.

00:50Sure enough, a couple days later, I go to jail, got in trouble, got pulled over, go

00:54to jail and I sat in there praying to God, like asking why me, why me?

00:59You know, and I was at rock bottom.

01:00I called my parents when I was in jail, they wouldn't even answer my phone call.

01:03They answered one time and they're like, you're in jail, good luck.

01:07I made my mind up that, you know, the road that I'm going, it's either I'm going to be

01:11in prison or, you know, getting buried.

01:15And I could be, I wanted to be a, you know, a son to my mom and dad.

01:19I want to, I have a kid that's in Alamogordo, New Mexico and I wanted to be a father to

01:23him.

01:25I went to the Stable Recovery Program in Lexington.

01:27I came to that last year, it had been December 24th of last year.

01:33And I talked to a guy named Christian Counselor and he told me, are you ready to change your

01:37life?

01:38And I said, yes, I am.

01:39I'm open-minded and willing to do anything to go to any length to change my life because

01:43I just want to be on the backside of a racetrack on a horse.

01:47And after the 90 days that I was there and I graduated it and got my life back on track,

01:52he introduced me to Will Walden.

01:54I felt like when I first got in the barn, I felt very, very like out of place, but I

01:59felt like it was home at the same time because I knew there was people in the barn.

02:04I knew Will really cared about me because he's seen something in me that I didn't see

02:09in myself and continue working for him, working hard.

02:14It's really, it's paying off for me.

02:17My parents, they live an hour and a half from here.

02:20And now like when I got through into that program, they actually came and seen me.

02:25And like my son, I get to talk to him.

02:31Like the last few years of my life, I didn't get to talk to my son because I was out in

02:36the chaos of my life.

02:38And now it's like I get to go and see him and it's amazing because I can be a son.

02:46I can be a father.

02:47I get to be a brother.

02:51Coming from South Dakota to Kentucky, it's a big step of class of horses and people,

02:56you know, and that's what I love about where I'm at.

03:01Minnerette Station came to our barn, he was just, you know, he's always been a character,

03:05you know, when he first got there.

03:07And I started galloping him and stuff, and man, I mean, he's progressed so much.

03:13So we have a really strong connection with each other and galloping-wise, I mean, he's

03:18an unbelievable type of horse that I've ever been on.

03:23Getting on a horse that's going into a big race like that, the Breeders' Cup, I mean,

03:27it's so exciting.

03:28Like there's times that I'll think about it, I almost want to cry about it, you know, because

03:32it's tears of joy because it's very exciting for this race team to get to send a horse

03:37to a race like that.

03:40He's progressing, and hopefully in the Breeders' Cup we can run like a champ, so.

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