Haylee Guarracino has lived and breathed racing since the minute she was born.
As the daughter of Toowoomba trainer Donald Baker, she grew up around horses and dreamt of riding trackwork.
In 2017 that dream came true, but it was then tragically cut short when she suffered an acquired brain injury after a series of falls.
“I had three horses do some pretty wild stuff and I suffered a compound concussion,” Ms Guarracino said.
The injury left the young rider partially paralysed with memory loss that took about 18 months to recover from.
“I am good now but it was difficult at the time, I had worked so hard to be a full-time trackwork rider and it was all I wanted to do growing up,” she said.
“I had only been doing it for about six months when my dream had been cut short.”
The outgoing and inspiring rider and mum of two refused to let the injury beat her.
While she cannot not ride trackwork anymore she is still a regular at Toowoomba Turf Club where she works in maintenance, rides the clerk horses and helps load horses into their barriers on race days.
Now she has added to that impressive resume by being named the 2024 Face of Weetwood – trading her work clothes for fine fashion.
“I have done everything else at the turf club bar riding in the races and I wasn’t about to get down race weight any time soon, so there was only one option,” Ms Guarracino said.
“I have seen all the behind the scenes stuff at the track and I have unique insight into what makes Weetwood happen.”
With more than $1m in prize money on offer across the carnival, 1Equine Weetwood Race Day is Toowoomba’s largest race meeting on record.
It attracts punters from across Queensland, bringing much needed tourism revenue to the Garden City.
Ms Guarracino said she was delighted to represent the turf club.
“I just love racing,” she said.
“There is something exciting about it, it had an atmosphere when you are there that you can’t explain
“You can see these horses that are shining and fit.
“I have ridden these horses and I know the power they have got and I know what it is like to have half a ton of animal under you that is just muscle.
“They are magical.”
Weetwood is held at the Clifford Park on Saturday. Gates open from 11am.
