As a partner of the 2015 Breeders’ Cup, the Uber Kentucky team is excited to present a short series of blog posts focused on the Bluegrass State’s favorite pastime: horse racing.

Meet Alberta, a local horse aficionado and Uber partner. We recently met with her to find out what drives her–here’s what she had to say:

Thanks for meeting with us, Alberta! Can you give us some background on yourself?
I’m originally a transplant from New Jersey. I married someone in the horse business, and that’s what brought me to Kentucky. I now raise, breed, and race horses–I do it all! I devote most of my time to my thoroughbred horses.

I also have two dogs. My Jack Russell thinks he rules Kentucky, and his name is Come Along. My other dog is a big poodle, and her name is Belle. They hang out with me while I work with the horses.

What led you to become so involved in the horse industry?
My husband had a couple of horses, and I just decided that this was fun. I wanted to expand and improve what we had to a better class of horse, which I did very successfully. I had one of the top race mares in the country about 15-18 years ago, and every horse I’ve raced at Keeneland has won aside from one… and that one got second place.

Do you have a favorite horse?
I have two. We had one horse, B.A. Valentine, who raced very successfully at Keeneland. She was actually trained by Dale Roman, the same trainer who trained Keen Ice. I gave my horse to Dale back in 1998 to train, before he was who he is now. Her wins helped put him where he is today.

My other favorite is Bert’s Bubbleator. He was my first success, and he was a one-eyed horse. Everybody said that one-eyed horses don’t make money, but he made nearly half a million dollars. He beat the Derby favorite at the time (Prairie Bayou). Only two horses ever beat Prairie, and I had one of them.

That’s incredible. How does Uber play a part in all of this for you?
I worked at the Keeneland meet in the spring, and one of the servers in the dining room drives with Uber. She mentioned that she would turn the app on after her shift to drive people home, and she told me all about what Uber was. I got interested, and I started driving with Uber over the summer after I got a new Jeep and a smartphone.

What appeals to you about Uber?
I like the people, but the opportunity to make more money is what drew me to it. I have the most expensive habit in the world: horses. They have to eat twice a day, they need to be trimmed, they need new shoes more often than I do. Getting a horse is not too bad, but maintaining them is pricy.

I usually ask people about their experiences with Uber, and everyone I’ve picked up has said they use it quite often and prefer it to other options. They also don’t just use it in Kentucky—they use Uber in other parts of the world, too!

Do you have any advice for new Uber partners?
Get a good phone! It makes a big difference.


Alberta and her horses