Among them are: social media coordinator for and , U.S. assistant racing manager at AMO Racing, graduate and all-female camel racing winner.

It’s easy to wonder what led Leslie from the Bluegrass State’s horse tracks to camel racing in Dubai. This week, she’s back in Louisville providing professional social media coverage of the Run for the Roses. ��

UofL News caught up with the accomplished alumna to hear more about her journey and the influence of the university.����

UofL News: What initially sparked your interest in the Equine Industry Business Program at UofL?��

Leslie: I was intrigued by the program because there isn’t anything else like it. Being able to get a business degree while specializing in the equine field was something that really drew me in. I also liked that it was a very close-knit program and the class sizes were small.��

UofL News: Can you share with us the journey that led you from studying equine business at the University of Louisville to becoming involved in camel racing and eventually winning the C1 Championship in Dubai?��

Leslie: I worked in the Thoroughbred industry throughout college and took every opportunity to meet new people. Working for Thoroughbred racehorse trainer Mark Casse, I met a lot of connected people who had an influence on where I am today. In 2022, I went to Dubai for America’s Best Racing and it was then that I was first introduced to camel racing. I went out to film a segment on unique things to do in Dubai at the only camel riding school in the UAE, and that is where I met Linda Krockenberger, who co-founded the school and started the C1 Championships. We joked that it would be cool for me to one day compete in a race, and little did we know it would lead to this. Two years later the dream became a reality, and it turned out better than we both could have imagined.��

UofL News: Do you have any memorable experiences or lessons from your time as a student at the University of Louisville that have stuck with you since graduating?��

Leslie: I enjoyed meeting students with similar passions, even if we weren’t focused on the same discipline – we all shared the love for the horse. I really enjoyed my time on the UofL Saddleseat Team, in which we took home the national title. I have had a passion for horses since I can remember, but being surrounded by like-minded people on a daily basis certainly helped ignite my dream of working in the Thoroughbred industry. Terri Burch welcomed me into the program with open arms and for that, I’m forever grateful.��

UofL News: Have you ever participated in any Kentucky Derby events or festivities? Did the university’s proximity and ties to Churchill Downs help your career?��

Leslie: Yes, I was very lucky to work for Mark Casse when we had several horses competing in the Derby. War of Will in 2019 (who went on to win the Preakness Stakes), Enforceable in 2020 and Soup and Sandwich and Helium in 2021.��

I was at the track every morning before heading to school, so being nearby was ideal, especially when my alarm went off at 4:30 each morning. I had to have a nap every day in between classes, but the hard work definitely paid off.��

UofL News: What advice would you offer to prospective or current students in the Equine Industry Business Program at UofL who may be considering various career paths within the industry?��

Leslie: Take every opportunity. Even if you feel as though the event, person or whatever it may be might not benefit you, you never know who you’ll meet. I exhausted myself, but it was the best thing I could have done for my career. If I hadn’t jumped at every opportunity, I wouldn’t be in the position I am today. I never gave up, and I knew that going to college while working and traveling wouldn’t be easy, but I was lucky to have a support system that helped me follow my dreams.��

“Drs. Hiram Polk and J. David Richardson always took the fifth-year general surgery residents to Churchill Downs,” Mitchell said. “That was my first trip to Churchill Downs. Even if you had asked me then, I would never have thought I would own a horse or have a Kentucky Oaks winner that was born on my farm.”

Yet on May 6, Secret Oath, a filly that Mitchell and his wife Stacy raised on their farm, out of a mare that they also raised, won the Kentucky Oaks. While many high-performing racehorses are owned by groups of investors, having a home-bred horse win the prestigious Oaks is a bit unusual.

“I live on the farm. We have never put a horse on the racetrack that wasn’t born here,” Mitchell said. “I have never bought a racehorse.”

In 2002, the Mitchells purchased Briland Farm in Lexington, where he practices as a heart surgeon. They bought a mare for $1 and began a small-scale Thoroughbred breeding operation.

“I’m not a typical doctor type. I don’t play golf. I get my relaxation by driving the tractor and delivering foals. We had one born 48 hours ago,” Mitchell said. “We mostly breed horses and sell them, but in the breeding business you tend to get in the racing business by default if horses don’t sell.”

Such was the case with Secret Oath. When buyers showed little interest in her as a yearling, the Mitchells withdrew her from the Keeneland sale and put her in training with a successful Thoroughbred trainer, D. Wayne Lukas. The move paid off as Secret Oath proved her ability with four wins leading up to the Oaks.

Although he was introduced to Churchill Downs by Hiram Polk and J. David Richardson, chair and vice chair of surgery at UofL at the time, Mitchell said that for him, horses and medicine are very distinct endeavors. Nevertheless, both are knowledge-based and involve a lot of data – and both are serious business.

“You have to be very objective when you’re in the horse business. It’s easy to fall in love with these animals and think of them as pets. It is easy for the emotions to take over and for you to lose your objectivity,” Mitchell said. “And you have to be objective and analytical to be a heart surgeon.”

Mitchell, who strategically plotted the best match for Secret Oath’s dam, Absinthe Minded, said he enjoys the analytical aspect of breeding.

“I like trying to find the breedings and the matings and the genetics. It’s like trying to play chess with Mother Nature. Every now and then, Mother Nature lets you win.”

Secret Oath followed her Oaks win with a fourth-place finish in the Preakness Stakes on May 21.

Nominations for the 31^st annual award, presented by the UofL Equine Industry Program, are being accepted through Oct. 30.

The award is named for the late John W. Galbreath, the first person ever to breed and race Kentucky Derby winners (Chateaugay and Proud Clarion) and an English (Epsom) Derby winner (Roberto). He received Eclipse Awards as racing’s “Man of the Year” in 1972 and as the country’s outstanding breeder in 1974. Galbreath was heavily involved in importing top Thoroughbred stallions from overseas, including Ribot and Sea-Bird II.

Galbreath built a small local firm into an international real estate/project development company. His interests included the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team and Darby Dan Farm, a Thoroughbred breeding and racing enterprise that won stakes races on three continents. He also served for many years as chairman of Churchill Downs.

Recipients of the Galbreath Award demonstrate original and creative techniques or approaches to business, a willingness to take personal or career risks, forward-thinking and visionary management planning, an ability to render a business firm or organization more effective and profitable and the respect of peers as evidence of character and integrity.

Previous awardees include John A. Bell III, Cothran “Cot” Campbell and Judith Forbis. The 2019 winner was B. Wayne Hughes, who re-established Spendthrift Farm as one of the largest stallion stations in the world through innovative marketing techniques such as the “Share the Upside” program.

The 2020 awardee will be announced in late fall and honored at a dinner in Louisville. More information is available online.

“The Poetry Derby prioritizes a playful approach to language and form, capitalizing on the fact that horses are measured in hands and poems are traditionally measured in feet,” said Kristi Maxwell, the UofL assistant professor of English organizing the competition.

“In keeping with the horsey theme, participants will write modified sonnets of 16 lines (rather than 14) as a nod to the average height of thoroughbreds, which is 16 hands. That said, the poems’ contents do not have to be horse-themed.”

High school students and adults in Louisville and surrounding areas can submit sonnets for the contest during the March 1-15 entry period. Poets can send in up to three poems, but no more than one per writer will be selected.

All submissions must be typed, marked “adult” or “high school,” and include contact information (name, mailing address, telephone number and email address). Entries can be sent by email to kentuckypoetryderby@gmail.com or mail to Poetry Derby, c/o Kristi Maxwell, 315 Bingham Humanities Building, 2216 S. First St., University of Louisville, Louisville KY 40292, with a postmark between March 1 and 15.

Leading up to that, Derby hopefuls have been participating in free monthly community workshops Maxwell leads at the Kentucky Derby Museum. The walk-in workshop include an introduction to the sonnet form and poetic meter, writing exercises and a chance to share work. The last free Thursday workshop is from 3 to 4:30 p.m. March 7.

Additionally, Maxwell’s undergraduate and graduate students have led poetry workshops in several Louisville high schools as part of their “Teaching of Creative Writing” course. Those will include St. Francis, Marion C. Moore, duPont Manual, Iroquois and Fern Creek.

Poems (8-12 by high school writers and 8-12 by adults) will be selected for the April 22 reading and Kentucky Derby Museum celebration, with each category including a win, place and show. Event collaborators are the museum and UofL’s English department and Commonwealth Center for the Humanities and Society. Organizers hope the Poetry Derby will become annual.

Horses and Hope: A Breast Cancer Awareness Day at the Races will be held Wednesday, April 13, at Keeneland race track in Lexington. Doors open at 10:30 a.m. with lunch served at 11:30 a.m. at the Keene Barn and Entertainment Center.

Breast cancer survivors and guests are invited to enjoy lunch and a Derby Fashion Style Show sponsored by Talbots, The Spa at Griffin Gate, Kroger, Keeneland and WKYT-TV and emceed by WKYT anchor Amber Philpott. Following the program, participants will be escorted to reserved seating in Keeneland’s Grandstand where the day’s racing will feature a Horses and Hope race honoring breast cancer survivors.

Horses and Hope is a project of Beshear and the Kentucky Cancer Program. The mission is to increase cancer awareness, education, screening and treatment referral among Kentucky’s horse industry workers and other special populations. Screenings and events are held across the state in collaboration with the new Horses and Hope Cancer Screening Van launched earlier this year with KentuckyOne Health.

Ticket packages are $30 per person and include reserved parking, track admission, lunch, covered grandstand seating, racing program and a special Horses and Hope souvenir. Participants are encouraged to wear pink for breast cancer awareness.

Seating is limited so registration by April 11 is advised. To make reservations, call 859-254-3412.