At this year’s Breeders’ Cup World Championship, I see Jessica Paquette everywhere I go. Sprinting from mission to mission, this disabled person, this stray purebred advocate, and broadcaster is one who regularly spins with Keeneland, appeared in the paddock and on my social media feeds almost simultaneously. It shows who she is in real life: an unstoppable force, someone unafraid to take on the challenges from the Chicago Marathon a year after she returned to her latest job as full-time broadcaster at The Parx . Race in Bensalem, Pa.
As she succeeds Chris Griffin on the microphone at Parx, this self-styled “strange riding girl” is living another of her dreams and inspiring the next generation to follow theirs too.
The Girl On The Railway
From his first encounter with horses at the age of 6, Paquette made these animals his life. She shared unexcused absences during her school days when she skipped a class day to study on the rails. After his first exposure to races at New England tracks such as Rockingham Park and Suffolk Downs, the aspiring equestrian won the 1999 Breeders’ Cup at Gulfstream Park one of the other key experiences that made her even more determined to find her place in the sport. But the road to the announcer’s booth was not a straight one. Instead, her first chance to call a race came purely by chance.
A tornado in the Boston area in 2014 delayed broadcaster TD Thornton’s arrival in Suffolk, so Paquette accidentally took the microphone. As the track’s senior communications director (and later vice president of marketing), she was the usual image of racing fans, making her picks in the paddock. while promoting the sport she loves. Calling a race, however, is another story, but Paquette is sure she’s up to the task.
“I come from a place that has. I welcome any new challenge,” she said. “When I called it out of the race at Suffolk Downs in 2014, the adrenaline rush was like nothing else.”
That improvisation in the booth in Suffolk seeded this multi-talented woman. She went on to reprise her role at her favorite racetrack and then worked extra for the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation after Suffolk’s closure in 2019. Since then, Paquette has taken on a variety of roles. various, including the proud owner of OTTBs What a Trippi and Puget Sound, the paddock analyst at Sam Houston Racecourse in Texas and Colony Downs in Virginia, and Jill-of-all-trades in equestrian sport.
Her talent for doing it all has landed her the dream job she’s starting this week at Parx.
Voices in the booth
During her time at both Sam Houston and Colonial, Paquette was able to pick up where she left off that crazy day in Suffolk and call more races, including Quarter Horse and tower crossing competitions. . With friends like Tampa . Bay and Jason Beem, Downs Colonial Race Caller, and influencers like Larry Collmus and TD Thornton, it’s no surprise that Paquette has been able to transition from paddock analyst to race caller spontaneously. believe.
Follow broadcaster Jason Beem
Her biggest lesson from two of Suffolk’s previous announcers? “I learned to value what you do but not to take yourself too seriously,” she said as she counted down her first days at the helm of Parx. “I love the challenge and I love being a part of the daily running of the track.”
Following in the footsteps of women like Ann Elliott and Angie Hermann, Paquette was willing to do something she herself would not consider doing until those opportunities presented themselves to her. She credits the forerunners who paved the way for this opportunity: “When I was growing up, I never thought of becoming a race broadcaster because I never saw it done. No one. achieve their place on their own—my role in the race to this point has been made possible by the numerous women who have broken the road ahead of me in broadcasting.”
With at least 50 races done, the new Parx broadcaster has begun to hone his daily work routine. To prepare, she colorizes her program and studies the races every day, while remembering “try to take a moment to focus on yourself to take a moment to evaluate this.” How interesting it really is.”
“The real challenge is going fast enough to keep up with the action while keeping your brain quiet enough that you can make clear, concise choices in what you say so you can draw on it. a picture for those who are listening,” Paquette said of the task ahead. “For me, it’s a lot like riding a show jump – the goal is to go fast but also make good choices.
“Ideally you have to be ahead of the action, and you should try to see what’s going on as it happens, not catch up after it’s happened. Things happen very, very quickly.”
Jessica Paquette at Parx Racing
As she picks up where leaving broadcaster Chris Griffin left off, will Paquette take on her TikTok stardom and continue that social media tradition?
“I can’t dance,” laughs Paquette. “Seriously, though, Chris has set the bar very high as a broadcaster and tireless promoter of our sport. I hope to continue. doing the job he did here.”
With the joy she’s brought to much of her work for nearly two decades, Parx’s newest voice is sure to make her time in the booth as fun and meaningful as the youthful days on Earth. track in Rockingham.
Pioneer’s Heart
In this new role as the only woman currently calling races full time at a major American circuit, Paquette offers the resilient expression of someone who has dedicated her life to horses. and sports and one who has overcome challenges along the way. . After Suffolk closed in 2019, she persevered and found new places to pursue her passion and work hard on her business. After breaking his L4 vertebra one fall a year ago, the trailblazer has returned to long-distance running, completing the Chicago Marathon last month.
At every turn, she presents herself very much like the pioneers who have made the racing careers of other women possible, possessing the endurance needed to persevere.
“(This new job) is a huge honor that I don’t take lightly,” Paquette said. “After all, I’m just a weird equestrian girl who is incredibly lucky to have such an amazing life and career thanks to these incredible animals. My role in the sport. This sport is about promoting it, making it more accessible to new fans, and ultimately, hoping that it gets a little better than when I started if it could.”
