There aren’t many job at the racetrack more important than the one teenager Mya McCarthy has at The Raceway at The Western Fair District.
McCarthy is a little more than six weeks into her role as one of the tote operators at the London, ON track. That means she’s in charge of ensuring betting is cut off at exactly the right time, among other functions critical to the wagering bottom line that supports the entire operation.
On a Monday night in November, McCarthy is seated at a desk in a back room on the second floor of the track. Television screens on shelves above the desk are tuned to the racing broadcasts from Woodbine Mohawk Park in Milton, ON, Northfield Park near Cleveland, OH and, of course, Western Fair.
McCarthy enters any changes into the tote computer – horse scratches, driver changes, etc. – halts betting just after the horses leave the gate, enters the official order of finish after receiving a phone call from the race judges and sets the schedule for the next race’s post time at Western Fair, a slot carefully chosen by management to avoid a race going off at the same time as a race at another North American track. Going at the same time as another race can really hurt wagering handle coming in from bettors all over the world.
She admits there was a bit of pressure at the start and it took someone training her for the first few cards, but now she is comfortable doing the job on her own.
“I had people sit in here with me about four times, but now I’m on my own and I’ve gotten the hang of it,” McCarthy said.
Greg Blanchard, the director of equine programming at Western Fair, has his office just down the hall and is also a quick cell phone call away if McCarthy needs help or has a question.
“There are some different things that can happen – refunds, placings – that aren't the regular,” Blanchard said. “We had one night when we had a triple refund.”
But all in all, McCarthy is handling her new responsibilities well after starting out with the company as a concert usher during the Western Fair held in early September.
McCarthy is currently taking a gap year from school, but her new job gets the thumbs up from her friends.
“They think it’s pretty cool because they think horses are pretty cool,” McCarthy said.
As for Blanchard, he said it’s wonderful to have a younger person learning an important job at the track.
“It’s great,” he said. “The average person isn't even aware these jobs exist… and you need young people that have the flexibility and can learn it so that in future years you have people.”
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