After A Fast Start To His Career In 2024, Nolan Ramsey Looking To Do Even Better This Year

[Wandering Eyes]

When it came to launching his training career, Nolan Ramsey, 28, didn't waste any time. The grandson of prominent owner Ken Ramsey, he went out on his own last May and by year's end he had won 27 races at a 25% clip. For most trainers, especially a rookie, that would be considered an excellent season.

But Ramsey is convinced that he can do much better and won't be satisfied until he is recognized as one of the top trainers in the sport. A former assistant to Mike Maker, he currently has 30 horses, with most of them stabled at Gulfstream. He said that about half of them are owned by his grandfather.

“When I was with Maker I had as many as 40 or 50 horses under my care at the time,” he said.  “I really liked it. We had in total about 200 horses. It's certainly a lot of work and a lot of responsibility. What I learned with Mike is that as long as you have the right people supporting you and helping you can handle some big numbers. Ultimately, I would like to grow. I would like to have 100 or 200 in training. Right now 30 is great. I have no complaints.”

First things first.

Some of Ramsey's earliest memories are being with his grandfather, whether that meant going to the track with him or sitting by his side as he taught him how to read the Racing Form when he was just seven years old.

Ramsey with Javier Castellano and Michael Maker | Coglianese

“I grew up in Lexington on the farm with him,” Ramsey said. “My dad worked for my grandfather and we were all very close growing up. He taught me how to read the Racing Form and the Ragozin sheets and Thoro-Graph when I was very young. I don't think my mom was very happy about it. I started going to the track with him, even when I was very young. He would take me to Saratoga for the summer. I'd go all over the world with him to watch his horses run. I was flipping through some pictures the other day and I found one from April, 1997. I was in the winner's circle at Keeneland, so I would have been about six months old. I really just fell in love with the horse itself.”

When he was just 10 he went to work at Ramsey Farm during his summer breaks from school. When he was 13, Maker offered him a job walking hots and it didn't take all that long before the trainer realized his young protégé was ready for bigger and better things, like an assistant's job.

Ramsey said he had been thinking of going out on his own for a few years before he took the plunge. He had started a young family and the life of an assistant trainer is not conducive to spending a lot of time with your children. He also knew that his octogenarian grandfather had health issues and he wanted to make sure he was winning races for him while he was still around to enjoy it.

“Because of those two things I decided this was the time to try this,” he said.

“I'm very proud of my grandson, Nolan,” Ken Ramsey said. “He is a fine young man who is off to a very successful start as a trainer. He loves the business and has a great work ethic, and that is the formula for success.”

Last year, Ramsey had stalls at Gulfstream and Laurel. This year, he wants to have a presence in Kentucky to take advantage of the huge purses. There are other goals, as well.

Ramsey (second from the right) celebrates his first Kentucky win | Coady Media

“I'd certainly like to build on last year,” he said. “It felt like I hit the ground running. We accomplished a lot in such a short time, especially when you consider that we didn't start running until about mid-May. For 2025, I have a couple personal goals. I'd like to get my first graded stakes win. That would look good on the resume. The second goal is to build up my clientele a little bit. Right now about 50% of my horses are for my grandfather and 50% are for other clients. I would like to have a little more balance there and build a bigger barn. Try to get some better horses, better stock in the stalls.”

Maker is considered one of the top grass trainers in the country and Ken Ramsey is best known for winning grass races with his stallion Kitten's Joy. So, it's no surprise that Nolan Ramsey doesn't have a lot of good dirt horses. He doesn't want to be stereotyped as a turf trainer and is hoping to start picking up more dirt horses.

Training for his grandfather can be a mixed blessing. He helped launch Nolan's career by supplying him with the stock he needed to get started. But Ken Ramsey also hates to lose and his grandson knows an impressive winning percentage is a must.

“He can be very tough and he can be very demanding,” Ramsey said. “But he gives you the reins to meet the goals he has set for you. What I mean by that is he wants to win and he wants his winning percentage to be high. But if you call him up and say that horse we got last month for $50,000 isn't cutting it, he'll say 'run him for $25,000' and he won't think twice about it. He's aggressive and he understands the game. He knows that this is a sport where if you lose 80 % of the time you're doing a pretty good job.

“To have clients like him that let you do your job, let you picks the races is great,” the younger Ramsey said. “I'm fine with the expectations that come with it because frankly he gives you everything you need to accomplish that. Having him back me and being able to run horses where they really fit has made my job easier. That's one of the reasons my stats were pretty good in '24. I hope to do even better this year.”

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