LEXINGTON, Ky. – A need for workers in Kentucky’s thoroughbred industry has prompted the commonwealth’s public television station to create a video showcasing the types of jobs and potential pay available in the sector.

Kentucky Educational Television (KET) produced the video after a request from the Kentucky Equine Education Project (KEEP), said Tonya Crum, KET’s senior director of education. KEEP had asked about the project right before the pandemic, she noted.

“Kentucky is the horse capital of the world,” Crum explained. “The video helps to show job seekers where they would fit into the industry. It gives people the opportunity to see what that industry is like. With the pandemic, there has been less opportunity for people to visit places (to learn about a career). Not everyone can do an internship or job shadow.”

In addition to KEEP, the video was developed with help from the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Workforce Center and The Race for Education.

The video may be found at www.ket.org/horseindustry. The site also includes current job listings and information on mentorships, apprenticeships, seasonal work and universities in the state offering equine studies.

The 5-minute, 15-second-long video notes several of the potential jobs in the industry, such as farm manager, trainer, groom, jockey, track maintenance, exercise riders and barn foreman.

“There’s money in horses and not all of it’s in prize money,” a voice over says. “In Kentucky, the starting gate marks the end of a process that began years earlier – breeding, foaling, training and running in thoroughbred races all require human assistance. That means jobs. So, if you’re one of those people who have been bit by the horse bug, you’re in demand.”

Pay may range from $60,000-$100,000 annually for a farm manager to $25,000-$35,000 for a groom, according to KET’s website.

Kentucky’s thoroughbred industry generates $6.5 billion annually, a KET press release said. Kentucky has about 54,000 thoroughbreds and leads all states in annual thoroughbred breeding, the release noted.

“Even at a time when it is successfully growing, the horse industry has faced labor shortages,” Elisabeth Jensen, KEEP executive vice president, said in the release. “Nearly 80,000 Kentuckians work within the industry and we want to introduce these jobs and careers to a new generation of Kentuckians who will build on this current success and ensure that we remain Kentucky’s signature industry.”

The thoroughbred video is part of the station’s In Demand series. Created in 2019, the original series focused on five areas: advanced manufacturing, business and information technology, construction, transportation and logistics, and healthcare. The station worked with the Kentucky Workforce Innovation Board to determine which sectors could be helped by the videos, Crum said.

“In Kentucky, we needed workers in all those areas,” she stated. “The five original sectors were the ones that had the most job openings at the time. The board provided some of the funding. Today, the thoroughbred industry is also in search of workers, there’s definitely a need.”

The station has heard from high school counselors who use the videos to introduce career possibilities to their students, Crum said. “Employers are interested in making sure people know jobs are available in their industries. We’re starting to push the videos out more in social media.”

Other videos in the series are available on the KET website. No additional In Demand videos are planned at this time, she said.