By Bill Finley
Hot Springs might be a fun place to spend the racing season, but trainer Jason Barkley probably couldn't wait to get out of town when the meet ended last year. Just 28 and trying to make a name for himself, he went 0-for-16 at Oaklawn with one close second. Four months later, things had gone from bad to worse. Entering the beginning of August, his record on the year was 0-for-43.
Barkley was finding out firsthand how difficult it is for a young trainer, particularly one who didn't apprentice under a Todd Pletcher, Wayne Lukas or Chad Brown and didn't have the backing of a major owner, to break into the business.
While he didn't have any winners, he did have a plan. He knew he was never going to be an overnight sensation, but he had to keep moving forward and build his stable, even if it was one very small step at a time. He had enough confidence in his abilities that he believed he would inevitably have a break through and that each break through would lead to another.
It was just a “beaten” $16,000 claimer at Ellis Park, but when Katie's Reward (Warrior's Reward) won on Aug. 5 for the Barkley stable it was as if the cloud that had been hovering over his head instantly vanished. She began a streak that saw him go 11-for-38 through the rest of the year.
Now, Barkley is returning to the same track, Oaklawn, that ate him up and spit him out, with a far better barn, momentum and confidence that this will be a meet where he will make some noise.
“For me, this is a big meet,” he said. “Last year's meet was a struggle for me. I came in with five [horses] and we were hitting the board, but weren't winning any races. I'm coming in with more horses this year and much better stock. I don't look at it as a 'now-or-never' meet. The idea is to just keep progressing. I had five here last year. Now I have 12. If I can leave here with 15, 18 that would be exactly the type of thing that would keep moving us forward.”
Barkley is a third-generation trainer. His grandfather was trainer Paul Byers and his father is Jeff Barkley, who is still active. The younger Barkley knew early on what he wanted to with his life, and began preparing for his career at a very young age.
“I walked my first horse when I was still in elementary school,” he said. “My grandfather and father were in same barn at Ellis Park when I was a kid. I've been in the barn since I was big enough to walk a horse.”
He attended the University of Louisville, working summers for trainers Kelly Von Hemel, Steve Margolis and Paul McGee. After he graduated from Louisville's equine program, he became a vagabond of sorts. He was not interested in going to work for one of the big barns and having to wait several years to move up what is essentially a corporate ladder. Instead, he purposely bounced around, hoping to learn different aspects of the sport from trainers who have different specialties. His first major job was as an assistant to Nick Zito. He also worked as an assistant to Joe Sharp before going to the Wesley Ward stable, his last stop before going out on his own in 2017.
“I thought if I bounced around I could see different ways that people do things,” he said. “I got to be around higher-class horses with Zito. Joe had a little bit of everything, cheaper horses and better horses and he had moved on to becoming a trainer after a relatively short time with Mike Maker. I learned how he became so successful so fast. With Wesley, I wanted to learn about the 2-year-old game. The way I see it, everyone pays attention to 2 year-olds and stakes horses, and everything else is just filler.”
He's no threat to take home the Oaklawn training title, but it would be a surprise if Barkley didn't win at least a handful of races at the meet.
“The quality I have this year versus last year? It's not even close,” he said.
He's hopeful that he can win his first career stakes race when he sends out Arch Avenue (Archarcharch), a recent allowance winner at Turfway and $5500 yearling bargain buy, in the Feb. 2 Martha Washington S. He is also excited about Highland Lass (Quality Road), who was picked up at the 2018 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale after starting her career in Southern California.
“We also have some higher-end claimers and a maiden that I like a lot,” Barkley said.
He's progressed from the trainer who left Oaklawn last year after a humbling experience. But he knows he has a long way to go. Win four or five races at Oaklawn, keep getting his name out there on social media, pick up another client or two, claim a couple of solid horses at this meet, work hard.
“I like to set goals,” he said. “What do we need to make happen to keep moving forward? We have checked some boxes lately.”
At Oaklawn, he hopes to check a few more.
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