Horses must be healthy to race. This clinic makes sure their caretakers are, too.

Seventeen years ago, Odilia Castillo, now 37, traveled from her location successful Chiapas, Mexico, northbound to activity arsenic a "hot walker" connected Kentucky's title tracks. Every greeting she wakes up astatine 3 a.m. and heads to nan way by 4 a.m. to locomotion nan horses, who request astatine slightest 30 to 45 minutes to cool down aft training. 

Castillo said she has a "connection pinch nan horses," and that's what kept her caring for nan animals — until, successful 2021, she couldn't activity because of a symptom successful her stomach. She said she didn't cognize what nan symptom was, truthful she went to nan Kentucky Racing Health Services Center. The Louisville session was founded successful 2005 to meet nan needs of those known successful nan racing world arsenic nan "backside," mostly migrant workers who attraction for nan horses who title astatine tracks specified arsenic Churchill Downs.

The mother of two, who is joined to different racetrack worker, needed to return days disconnected from activity — a dire situation for these laborers — galore of them migrants from Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela aliases different Latin American countries — who caput to nan tracks six days a week to thief support Kentucky's estimated $2.7 billion annual racing system galloping. They are nan basking walkers, workout riders, grooms and farriers basal to support racing shape for nan 238,027 horses successful nan state.

Many backside workers are undocumented — and don't person occupation protections — but are basal to attraction for nan million-dollar horses moving Saturday successful nan 2024 Kentucky Derby, known for its fashionable hats, mint juleps and billionaire owners.

That's wherever nan session steps in. 

"A transient workforce that needs to enactment healthy"

Some backside workers are hired by nan trainers done nan H-2B impermanent worker visa program, but galore are undocumented because nan request for group to attraction for and provender nan horses acold outpaces nan visas issued. 

An mean unchangeable hires 1 personification for each 2 horses, trainer William Jordan Blair told CBS News and backside workers are an "integral portion of each azygous operation." Backside workers attraction for astir 5 to six horses during their day. He said it was a situation to find dependable workers for his 30-horse stable, Jordan Blair Racing, and for galore others successful nan racing circuit, partially owed to nan transient quality of nan business.  

"It's a transient job, not by choice, but that's nan measurement nan business is — not easy to find workers," Jordan said. 

Workers, who usually are hired by nan trainers and stables, typically move pinch nan horses 3 to 4 times a twelvemonth to different racing tracks successful Florida, Kentucky, New York and different states, and each way is different. Many supply dormitory lodging — successful various conditions, said Jordan – and immoderate of nan bigger ones supply childcare and sometimes healthcare. 

"It's easier to support thief erstwhile nan workers are younger," said Jordan, who said erstwhile workers are younger, they don't mind moving arsenic much. "But erstwhile they person families, it's difficult to uproot." He said losing knowledgeable workers made it challenging for nan horses and nan stables. Workers are paid connected mean successful Kentucky $13 an hour, he said, but tin make much — aliases sometimes little — successful different states. 

Backside workers caring for horses astatine Churchill Downs courtesy Krista Roach

But for galore workers, it is simply a crapshoot, said caregiver practitioner Krista Roach, who started moving astatine nan session successful 2019.  

"It's unsmooth erstwhile they time off for a fewer months," Roach said. "It's for illustration starting from scratch each complete again erstwhile they return." 

She said she's seen workers not get medicine aliases thief for various ailments including diseases specified arsenic diabetes, and occasionally STIs. 

A communal refrain from workers is nan fearfulness of missing activity for moreover a day. Worry pervades nan backside that if they miss work, different migrants will travel to switch them — aliases they will beryllium fired.

"If you want a occupation nan adjacent day, you won't return a time off. Unless you person an knowing boss, you are present each day," 1 worker told a researcher successful a study connected really these workers dainty their health. 

Unclaimed racing tickets money a clinic

These are nan challenges nan session tries to reside for nan backside workers who activity help. Most workers travel via connection of mouth, arsenic "word travels accelerated connected nan backside," an often close-knit community, said Roach.

Unclaimed racing tickets collected by nan authorities of Kentucky support nan session to nan tune of $700,000 annually — and dedicated nurses, bilingual doctors, expert assistants and administrators guarantee workers get nan services they need. 

Nurse Dedra Hayden, head of nan halfway and an subordinate professor astatine the University of Louisville's nursing school, which hosts nan clinic, has a argumentation erstwhile it comes to caring for nan mostly Latino workers connected nan state's racing circuit. 

"I conscionable don't ask," Hayden said, referring to patients' migration status. 

Nurses and aesculapian professionals astatine Kentucky Racing Health Services Center. Kentucky Racing Health Services Center

"We effort to supply them a safe environment," Roach said. She recalled seeing 1 worker who asked nurses to trim his toenails. He didn't deterioration shoes connected nan tracks and his feet were successful specified bad style that he was fearful to touch them. Nurses trim his toenails and bandaged his feet truthful he could return to work. "He was truthful grateful," Roach said. Since Roach joined nan session successful 2019, she has worked to grow wellness attraction for female backside workers who thin to usage nan session for services. 

They've seen 1,010 female patients and expanded their services to see OB-GYN examinations for women, crab check-ups and thief for families and children. Castillo said she had gone to truthful galore doctors to find retired what was wrong. 

"For those years I had fearfulness because I didn't cognize what was incorrect pinch me," Castillo said — until she sewage to nan clinic. 

She had surgery, and aft a month-and-a-half, was capable to return to activity to attraction for nan horses that she "feels successful her soul."

In:
• Horse Racing
• Kentucky Derby
• Kentucky