Doser decides to drop long-distance commutes

Mary Doser, one of the most popular figures at Great Lakes Downs, is heading back home to Kentucky after way too many miles on the road between there and western Michigan.

Doser, the riding champion at Great Lakes's inaugural meet in 1999, makes her home near Turfway Park, which is located in Florence, Ky., with her husband, the trainer Scott Sowle, and their dogs.

Sowle stayed home this year to race in Kentucky and Indiana. Both he and Doser did a lot of commuting between Great Lakes and the tri-state area, plus took some trips to West Virginia and Illinois. Despite Doser sharing the lead in the Great Lakes jockey race with Freddie Mata, she and Sowle decided that she would stay home and just come to Michigan for stakes races.

Doser sustained a sprained ankle and injured a foot in a recent accident at the starting gate.

Doser galloped two horses Monday with slight discomfort before seeing a specialist, but is now set to ride in races for her husband on Friday at both Churchill Downs and Indiana Downs. Doser then plans to start accepting outside mounts and hopes to stay busy - on the track, not the highway.