Enid goes to the Kentucky Derby

After that visit she was hooked. She has been working for Carl Nafzger as an exercise rider for the last couple of years. They take race horses to Florida in the winter and then back to Kentucky every spring. Katie has not only been lucky enough to work with this years Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense but has also gotten to ride him (pictured above). Street Sense came to them as a baby (as Katie calls him) and she has been able to watch him grow and develop. She said he is a real sweetheart and that they have all thought he was special from the beginning. Even though she has ridden him a few times she is not his primary exercise rider.
Getting to go to the Derby with Street Sense has been a dream come true for Katie. She got to accompany the horse and his entourage to the paddock from the backside before the race and watched the race from the rail in the winners circle. She is so excited about him and is certain he has it in him to win the Triple Crown.
Katie's real dream is to be a jockey and be the one to ride the horse as it wins the Kentucky Derby, but for now just being a part of a Kentucky Derby winner is awesome enough!
Katie, 21, graduated Enid High School in 2003 and is the daughter of Frank and Mary Merritt.
Thanks to Alysse Jacobs for the great photo and for giving us permission to use it.








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