20 May 2015
Casey Owen worked horses on Tuesday morning and studied law in the afternoon but still found time to drive her first winner when Badewitz scored in the final race at Tabcorp Park Menangle. Twenty two year old Owen has been involved in harness racing for only two years but has already built a strong passion for the sport.
“I grew up in Casino and moved to Brisbane and always liked animals but had never dreamed of working with horses until a few years ago,” said Owen.
“I went to London for a year and worked in a law firm over there but really used the time to do some travelling and when I came home to Australia I needed to find a job as quickly as possible.”
One of Casey’s best friends is related to the McCarthy family and it was through that connection she got her first start in the industry.
“My friend is a cousin of the McCarthys and when I needed a job she asked Todd if he knew of any work that was going and he said that Queensland trainer Shawn Grimsey was looking for a stablehand.
“I worked for Shawn for about a year and then Daryl Crapper and Todd heard Ian Wilson was looking for a worker so I made the move to Sydney.”
Casey had to learn how to drive track work when she arrived in Sydney but quickly made the decision that she wanted to try her hand at race driving and had her first drive on March 26 this year.
“It was really nice to get a win on the board because I had been beaten narrowly in a couple of races and I was wondering when that first win was going to come.
“Before the race on Tuesday I thought he was up in grade a bit and if he picked up a cheque he would have done a good job for the stable.”
After racing four back on the marker pegs Badewitz stuck to the inside in the straight and zoomed through to record a 1:53.4 victory.
“I drive him at home so I know him pretty well and I wanted to make sure he was ready to go in case there was a gap and all of the horses in front moved away from the inside.
“I just needed Robbie’s (Morris) horse to shift off the pegs and when it rolled out there was enough room for Badewitz and he is a very quick horse when he sees a hole.”
Casey is in the second year of her law degree and while harness racing may have to become a smaller part of her life in the future she confirmed she would always like to be involved in the sport.
“At some stage I guess it will have to take a back seat but I’ve been bitten by the bug and I really love the horses, I’d love to have a few of my own in the future but I guess only time will tell.”
Harness Racing NSW (HRNSW) is the controlling body for harness racing in New South Wales with responsibility for commercial and regulatory management of the industry including 31 racing clubs across the State. HRNSW is headed by an industry-appointed Board of Directors and is independent of Government.
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To arrange an interview or for further information please contact:
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Name:
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Greg Hayes
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Position:
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Media Co-ordinator
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Phone:
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(02) 9722 6600
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Email:
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ghayes@hrnsw.com.au
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