For Gazzier, family first (but horses are family, too!)
Second-generation horsewoman finding right balance
The Biz
August 10, 2026
For Kristy Gazzier, the alarm goes off plenty early.
There’s a stop at her mother’s house, where three-year-old daughter Grace goes back to sleep while Gazzier heads to Charles Town to oversee a stable that has steadily grown into one of the track’s respected operations. By afternoon, Grace is back at the barn, pushing a toy wheelbarrow, handing out treats to horses, and doing her best to help.
For Gazzier, that’s about as close to balance as life gets.
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“It’s one of my greatest accomplishments, if not my greatest accomplishment, is being a mom to Grace,” Gazzier said on the July 30 Midlantic Racing Today podcast. “She’s awesome. She loves the horses.”
The balancing act has not slowed her success. Through the first seven months of 2026, the Charles Town-based trainer has saddled 10 winners. Since launching her career, she has won 127 races from 968 starters, building a reputation for developing hard-knocking runners while cultivating lasting relationships with owners.
Her best horses have included Hammer, whose bankroll has topped $220,000, and West Virginia-bred W V Lad, who has earned just shy of $100,000. They are very different horses, Gazzier says, but they share one trait.
“They’re two horses that just give you their all,” she said. “I love having horses like that. I pamper them. I take care of them. They’re spoiled little guys, but they give you it all when they go out on the track, and that just means the world.”
Racing has always been the family business.
Her mother began riding horses at a bush track near Gulfport, Mississippi, before becoming a jockey. When an opportunity arose to ride at Charles Town in the late 1990s, the family packed up and moved to West Virginia. There, Gazzier’s stepfather, veteran trainer John Dillow, became one of the biggest influences on her career.
Watching Dillow run his barn left a lasting impression.
“He was very driven,” Gazzier said. “He was there every day. He had people that worked for him, but we fed the horses ourselves every day at feed time because he wanted to make sure they were eating. He wanted to monitor them. He’s very hands-on.”
Even today, she still leans on his experience.
“If I see a problem, it’s, ‘What do you think, Dad?'” she said.
Gazzier’s own operation has grown gradually, alongside husband Mauricio Rodriguez, who helps oversee the stable. She credits loyal owners who trusted a young trainer and stayed with her through the inevitable highs and lows.
“My biggest thing is I just want the people to trust me because I am a very honest person,” she said. “We’re very family-oriented, and we really love our horses. The horses are our lives.”
That family-first philosophy has taken on new meaning since Grace arrived.
Gazzier admits returning to the barn after giving birth wasn’t easy—though she was ready to be back just four days after coming home from the hospital.
“It was hard at first because it felt like I was having to change my lifestyle a little,” she said. “I’m so used to being at the barn all day long.”
Fortunately, she has what she calls a village. Her mother watches Grace in the mornings, just as Gazzier’s grandmother once watched her while her own mother was riding races.
And to think: Gazzier once swore she’d never have kids.
That support system has allowed her to keep training while also making time for family.
Her mother’s advice remains simple.
“You’ve got to put your babies first, too,” Gazzier said. “I don’t want anything [in the barn] to go off without a hitch. So, but yeah, you do have to put your family first sometimes, too. The kids are only kids once.”
Gazzier currently has 21 horses, roughly half of them unraced 2- and 3-year-olds she hopes will become the next generation of runners. She prefers patience over rushing young horses to the races and combs the condition books to find spots around the region that fit them. And she’s learned to measures success not just by trips to the winner’s circle but by healthy horses, loyal owners and a happy daughter waiting at the barn each afternoon.
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