LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life.
For many of us, that's just a saying. But for horse trainer Greg Foley, it's life.
"I love it. I don't play golf, I don't hunt, I don't really have any other hobbies. I live and breathe this," Foley said. "I love getting up and coming out here for these horses. They're all important to me. I've been doing it a long time. I loved it as a kid and I still do."
You don't become one of the winningest trainers in Churchill Downs history without starting early. For Foley, that meant working under his dad's watchful eye who trained for 48 years after starting as a jockey.
At 23, Foley opened his own stable. In 2020, he surpassed the 1,400 win mark with more than 400 of those wins coming at his home track, Churchill Downs.
While the grandeur and recognition often comes on the track, what matters most is what happens daily on the backside well before the sun comes up until well after it sets.
Foley says he wakes up around 4 a.m., gets to the track a little before 5 a.m., and starts training the horses around 5:30 a.m. — staying until the racetrack closes at 10 a.m.
He says after the horses are done training on the track, they come inside to get a bath and walk around the shed for 30 minutes to cool off and get some water.
"In between sets I'll check all the legs [on the horses]," Foley said. "We check every leg and make sure there's no filling, no heat, and that they're walking good and sound."
Even after all the wins, even after all of the daily grinds, Foley has stayed true to his family roots. His operation now spans three generations, with his two sons working with him.
"Never really thought of either one of them coming into the horse business. They both went to school," Foley said. "But they both found themselves over here and I'm proud and excited about that."
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