Published: August 11, 2008 11:41 pm      

Pence family has spent lifetime training racers

The large dirt oval looks a bit out of place nestled among soybean fields along Ind. 213 near the Howard County line.

In some respects it is a field of dreams. Many dreams of turning a yearling into a winning harness racing horse have started on this oval.

Each morning Larry Pence, along with his wife Jill and his brother Jerry, train horses on the oval in preparation for races at Hoosier Park in Anderson and at Indiana Downs near Shelbyville.

The Pence family has been racing and training horses for more than 30 years, starting on a farm on 300 East before moving to the 40-acre site along Ind. 213.

Pence said his father raced and trained horses and his grandfather had a friend who operated a horse farm in Pennsylvania.

The two brothers are retired from Delco and have trained horses together since 1979.

“It’s something I always enjoyed,” Larry Pence said. “When I worked at Delco I would train the horses in the evening.”

In addition to training the horses, Pence used to be a driver but stopped several years ago.

“It’s a young man’s game,” he explains.

Normally Pence trains eight horses at a time, but currently there are four horses being prepared to race at Indiana Downs.

Pence said before parimutuel racing was legalized in Indiana he would travel to the Chicago area several times a week to race.

“Right now I train for other owners,” he said. “They are looking for someone who is honest and willing to do the work.”

While Larry and Jerry are putting horses through a morning workout, Jill Pence is cleaning the stalls.

After the workouts the horses receive a bath and a carrot.

“I was born with a love of horses,” Jill said. “I met Larry in 1979 during a job interview because I wanted to work with horses.”

The couple has been married for 29 years.

“We have racing in the blood,” she said.

With a yearling sale coming up later this month, Pence expects to begin training several more horses.

“They all don’t make it,” he said.

Jill said the horses that don’t go racing are sold to the Amish or given to an adoption agency.

“The Amish like the horses because they are used to the harness and pulling a cart,” she said. “They have a good temperament.”

Larry said every horse has its own personality.

The cost to maintain a horse is between $1,000 and $1,200 per month.

Larry said training a horse can be hard work because they are not immediately accustomed to a bridle and harness. It can take 300 miles before a horse is ready to begin training to race.

“We’ve had good luck with 2-year-olds,” he said. “There is a lot of luck involved.”

With the addition of slot machines at the two Indiana tracks, Pence believes the additional revenue will increase the purses.

“It was a hard battle, but it has paid off,” he said of adding the casinos. “It will help the horse industry. We need to promote younger people into the sport.”

How long will Pence keep training horse?

“Till I die,” he insists.