Janet Del Castillo

From delivering babies by candlelight at the age of nineteen, while in the Peace Corps, to galloping through orange groves training her racehorses, Janet has led a life full of excitement and challenge.  She has held steadfastly to her belief that hard work and positive thinking can accomplish anything.     A city girl raised in San Francisco, one of five children, her father was an agent for the Bureau of Narcotics.  She grew up with an acute awareness of the danger of drugs long before it hit mainstream society.

President Kennedy's challenge "Ask not what your country can do for you...but what you can do for your country!" touched her so deeply that she left Art School at San Francisco State University, joined the Peace Corps in l963, and found herself in a rural part of Colombia, South America.  She spent the next two years as the only American in a small rural  village.  She  barely had time to ask the village what she could do for them, before being sent off  in a dugout canoe to inoculate neighboring villagers against an outbreak of smallpox.  Later she was involved in combating malaria, rescuing an insane woman tied to a stake, and attempting to teach the villagers basic hygiene - all unforgettable adventures - all providing insight that made her the woman she is today.

After eighteen years of marriage to a physician,  divorce forced her to confront the realities of making a living in the "real" world.  She was left with the responsibility of raising three teenage children, a barn full of racehorses and a small farm to manage.   She held on to her dream and belief that the little guy can win...and that hard work and tenacity do pay off.  

Her farm was miles from the nearest race track and it occurred to her that her horses might train just as well, or even better, on the sandy trails among the orange groves.  With the help of her children, she galloped her horses into condition in the orange groves and swam them in the lake.  Then to the amazement and amusement of trainers, owners and journalists, she packed up her horses, and shipped in to the track to race.

A throw away horse donated to a children's home, made her dreams come true.  She purchased it on the cuff from the home, as a favor to them, and trained the filly  into becoming a major stakes winner in Florida earning over $300,000.  Her success dispelled the myth that all racehorses must live at the track and be trained there.  Hers come off the farm... a horse's natural environment, and are hauled to the track the night before the race or the day of the race.   Under this training program her horses run with no medication and remain sound.

Her desire to share her hard earned knowledge with others and the desire to improve the racing industry from within have led on to a career in writing and speaking.  She has published various articles, written and illustrated comic strips that have appeared here and in South America, and is a professional public speaker. The fifth edition of her book Backyard Racehorse, is in production and should be ready December 2012!

Janet trains Trainers. She likes to have owner-trainers come to her farm and she teaches their racing prospect as well as them the process of making a young green horse into a racing prospect. The goal is to bring more caring owner-trainers into the business. 

Seminars are held at the farm for owners and trainers wanting to understand more about the industry . Tampa Bay Downs is open for the winter season and in the two day seminar horses are shipped into the track from the farm so participants can see how horses can live a more normal life yet still be competetive race horses. The goal is to train the horse to his personal best and not break him down in the process. 

backyardracehorse.blogspot.com shows how her horses are being trained. The website backyardracehorse.com has info on her philosphy and gives sample articles. 

Feel free to join the forum,  backyardracehorse@yahoogroups.com and network with owner trainers interested in training with competence  and horsemenship.