Ruis gives new trainer Trites his start at Keeneland

Austin Trites, who will launch his training career in Thursday’s fifth race with Ruis Racing’s The Critical Way, was living in California and working in an entirely different profession when he decided to pursue a career in Thoroughbred racing.

Trites, 31, grew up on a farm in upstate New York, and was encouraged by his father to learn about horsemanship by participating in United States Pony Club and 4-H. Trites’ family moved to western Massachusetts when he was 16, and he graduated from Wheaton College near Boston.

“After college, I was out in California working for special effects (in) movies and TV,” Trites said. “(I was) just at the race track every weekend and realizing that that really was my true calling, so I applied to the (University of Arizona) Race Track Industry Program.”

Excelling during his first semester at Arizona, he was encouraged to pursue a master’s degree. But he wanted to become a trainer, “so I got in my car and drove cross-country to Saratoga.”

There, while working as a vet tech, Trites met trainer Gary Contessa. After a couple of years with Contessa’s operation, working his way up from hot walking to becoming a foreman, Trites began a two-year stint with trainer Christophe Clement. He spent the next two years as an assistant to trainer George Weaver and came to Keeneland.

“Keeneland I love, because I really started to make a name for myself as an assistant with some of the success I had here for George Weaver,” he said. “I’ve had great luck at Keeneland and I just find it to be the most phenomenal horse racing atmosphere.”

Trites was offered a position as private trainer for Mick and Wendy Ruis of Ruis Racing, who have top Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) contender Bolt d’Oro. He returned to California to learn about the Ruis Racing operation.

Trites has six horses in his care at Keeneland, including his first starter, The Critical Way. He plans to remain at Keeneland through June.

“There are a lot of chapters in the book already, but I think I just started the biggest and the most important one yet.”