Assistant Nolan Ramsey settling in with Maker string

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Mike Maker has shipped in to win some big races at Woodbine in recent years, including the 2016 Queen’s Plate with Sir Dudley Digges. This season, Maker will run a regular string at Woodbine and has a 22-stall allocation on the Woodbine backstretch.

Overseeing Maker’s string at Woodbine this season is Nolan Ramsey, the grandson of Kentucky owners and breeders Ken and Sarah Ramsey.

Ramsey said he has six horses at Woodbine with him right now, but expects most of the 22 stalls will be full by the end of the month.

“I have a load of seven waiting to come as soon as the paperwork gets figured out,” he said. “Everything else has gone well, so we hope that everything gets figured out soon. Once we get more horses up here, the entries will pick up.”

The 21-year-old Ramsey said Maker gave him the opportunity to oversee the Woodbine string over the winter. Ramsey has been working for Maker since he was 15 years old, walking hots at Saratoga for the summer during high school. At the age of 18, Ramsey began working for Maker full time. He’s been an assistant trainer for Maker for the last two years.

Ramsey said he was looking for an opportunity that would allow himself and his wife, former apprentice jockey Katie Clawson, to have more stability.

“I had talked to him earlier in the year about finding a spot that I didn’t have to move around every three months,” he said. “He presented the idea of doing Woodbine, and I found it was great for me. I talked to my wife about it and we decided this would be a good fit for us.”

Ramsey had been to Woodbine on a few occasions with Maker’s horses, most notably in 2016 when Ramsey made the trip with Sir Dudley Digges for the Queen’s Plate.

“I really like Woodbine,” he said. “I’ve come up here quite a few times in the past, but just shipped in, ran, and left. I hope while I’m up here I can establish a name for myself and some people get to know who I am. Maybe we can pick up a couple of Canadian owners for Mike while I’m up here, and hope to put Mike’s name on the map in Canada.”

Ramsey said that Sir Dudley Digges, who won the Barbados Gold Cup at Sandy Lane in March, will likely return to Woodbine this season. He is being pointed to either the Grade 2 Dixie Stakes on turf at Pimlico this Saturday, or the Grade 2 Eclipse Stakes on Tapeta at Woodbine on May 26.

“He’s one of my favorite horses, so I kind of hope he ends up here,” Ramsey said.